Bloodstone
by ThatOnePsycho
Summary: Ruby hadn't expected to be pulled out her quiet, and boring, retirement to join a team on the hunt for a god... but she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
1. Chapter 1

Ruby's eyes clenched shut at the noise of her ringtone, blindly groping for the phone. With her other hand, she rapped her charge with one finger, "Shudup, would ya?"

_Danger…_

The hissing in her head stopped with that, and Ruby flipped her phone open, pressing it to her ear, "What is it, Nick?"

"That's Director Fury," Nicholas Fury said, to an exhausted grunt.

"And before you, it was Director Keller, and Director Carter before that," Ruby said, sliding out of bed and down the hall of her house so she didn't wake the other inhabitant of the bedroom, pouring water into the kettle and putting it on the stove, "We're not with you."

"If that was true," Fury said, "You wouldn't have kept this phone. How's your degree going?"

"Don't try small talk," Ruby said.

"Student loans are a bitch, in this day-"

_Danger…_

"What do you want? Ruby asked, stopped from where she was putting coffee mix into one of the three cups to rub her neck.

"One job," Fury didn't miss a beat, "and SHIELD pays for your tuition."

"Sounds dangerous," Ruby said, fighting the giddy grin, "not interest-"

_DANGER!_

Ruby watched the door to their house buckle and splinter, dropping the spoon and clenching her eyes shut as pain roared through her body, "_Dangerdangerdangerdangerdanger"!_

"Ruby!" Fury yelled, voice slipping up, "Ruby, are you alright? You just-"

"I'll call you back, Nick," Ruby said, wrapping her off hand around a large butcher's knife.

"Ru-!" Ruby flicked the phone shut, putting it on the island and striding towards the door just as it was blasted off the hinges.

"You better have a good-" Ruby stopped as she stared at the almost skeletal alien standing in her doorway, the bloodstone in the hollow of her neck sending energy down her free hand, forming daggers off the end of each finger, "Well, you're ugly…"

The alien pointed his gun at Ruby, hissing as he fired at her, only for the noise to take a confused lit as the blast washed against Ruby's Aura. Ruby grinned at him, then charged forward, blocking the strike from the gun's bayonet with the knife before digging the claws into the flesh of the alien, the entire thing turning to ash and disappearing.

Which let Ruby see the four other aliens standing next to a chariot-esque ship, guns trained on her. Ruby grinned at them… and then threw the knife into the lead aliens head. Summoning claws onto her other hand, Ruby charged at the aliens, time dilating before her.

Keep them out of the house, keep them away from-

Ruby threw up her arms, soaking up several shots from the cannon on the ship. Bursting through the blue plasma, she drove her claws into the flesh. Kicking the already disintegrating alien of them, Ruby started to slash for the others, her hot knives cutting through two others…

When the last collapsed as a bullet blew open their head, splattering purple blood over Ruby. On the second floor, Ruby's partner was clutching Crescent Rose and bracing it against the window frame.

"Well," Blake said, "This is an interesting way to wake up. What did Nick want?"

\- X **Blake **X-

Blake leaned against the wall of their bedroom, watching Ruby pack a bag, "I don't like this."

"I know," Ruby said, putting a layer of clothes over Crescent Rose, her mare's leg, knife and her rounds.

"No, I really, _really _don't like this," Blake said, crossing her arms, "He has an entire organization of secret agents, why does he need _you_?"

"Because they have Clint," Ruby said, "and took out a base… I don't like it any more than you."

That was a lie. Ruby had retired because Blake wanted her to, not because of any exhaustion on her part, she'd still be riding and hunting with Johnny if Blake hadn't asked Ruby to stop.

"And Agent Romanoff can't do it?" Blake asked.

"I guess not," Ruby said, zipping up her bag and throwing it over her shoulder, taking Blake's hand, "it's one job."

"I'm a writer," Blake said, "'One job' only ever ends two ways, dead-"

"-Which we don't need to worry about-" Ruby said, rapping her finger against the bloodstone.

"-or with someone deciding they like the job," Blake finished.

"I'm not doing this because I want to," Ruby said, pressing her lips to Blake's hand, "I'm doing this because it's safer for me to not be around for the moment."

"That isn't true," Blake said.

"Do ya really think aliens bashing down our door this morning was a coincidence?" Ruby asked.

"We don't know they were here for you," Blake said, walking alongside Ruby, "and even if they were, how can you be sure they won't show up again anyways?"

Ruby's eyes grew wide, "I hadn't thought of that…"

"Which is why I'm around," Blake teased.

"Should we call the school?" Ruby asked, "I'm sure Nick wouldn't-"

"We'll be fine," Blake said, leaning against the door, "I'll keep Gambol Shroud on me. Just... get this over with, ok?"

"Ok," Ruby said, grabbing her leather jacket and kissing Blake on the cheek, "See you in a couple of days."

"Yeah," Blake said, watching the VTOL touchdown a few streets away.

"Do you want me to call Johnny or Eric?" Ruby asked, voice low.

"Aren't they on the other side of the country?" Blake asked.

"...Maybe?" Ruby said.

"Then 'no'," Blake said, waving Ruby towards her red sports bike, "Now get going, don't keep the nice secret agents waiting."

Ruby laughed, grabbing the handles and gunning it.

"And put on your helmet!" Blake called after her, before dropping her voice and rolling her eyes, "Of course she isn't gonna do that…"

"Mum?" Blake looked up the stairs, where their eight year old daughter was standing, rubbing her eyes, "Where's Mom goin'? And what happened to the door?"

"Branch broke it down," Blake lied easily, "And Mom's gonna be gone for a couple of days. Business trip."

"With Uncle Johnny?"

"Not this time," Blake said, "Come on down, Elsa, it's time to get ready for school."

\- X **Maria **X-

Maria Hill watched the bike come rocketing around the corner with borderline inhuman agility, stopping in front of the Quinjet in a spit of gravel. The deputy director didn't flinch at it, just casting a dry look at the rider. _This _was who Fury wanted on their team? At least Stark had a suit of armor and an obnoxiously high IQ, she just looked like a cocksure biker.

"You're Nick's boys?" the woman asked, stepping off the bike and walking towards them.

"We're Director Fury's men, yes," Maria said, "You're Ruby Rose?"

"Yep!" she said, holding out her hand for Maria. Maria took it, instinctively trying to crush the hand. It was important to remind people she wasn't just a pretty face, "Oh, strong grip! My turn!"

Before Maria could wonder what that meant, she got her answer, a spike of agony coursing through her hand. Staring into the other woman's grey eyes, Maria refused to flinch, "I'm Commander Maria Hill."

Ruby's grin grew wider at that, and the grip on Maria's hand broke, Ruby stepping back, "Nice to meet you, Maria. Should we take off before police roll up?"

"Please," Maria said, grabbing Ruby's bike, moving it into the quinjet and strapping it down while Ruby stored the bag she had in the overhead, "What has the director told you?"

"Something got stolen, Clint Barton is working with the people who stole it, he wants me to get it back," Ruby sat down, strapping herself into the harness.

"A brief explanation," Maria said, strapping herself in as the Quinjet took off, "because you weren't on a secure channel. I'm authorized to tell you a bit more."

"See, that?" Ruby said, more to herself than Maria, "That is why I quit working with SHIELD."

"You worked with SHIELD?" Maria asked, taping her tablet and making a note to check the files when she got back.

"Yeah," Ruby said, "Anyho, what's up?"

"That's… where things get odd," Maria said, "The base… was taken out by a god."

"What," Ruby joked, "did… uh… Zeus throw his lightning down at you all or something?"

"Wrong myth," Maria said, cracking a smile, "Loki."

"This isn't my area of… stuff," Ruby said, "isn't he, like, the god of pranks or something?"

"Mischief," Maria said.

"Pranks," Ruby repeated, nodding, "Godkilling _might _be above my weight…"

"We thought so," Maria said, nodding, "We're putting together a team to do it, Fury will explain more when we land."

"How long will that take?" Ruby asked.

"Let's put it this way," Maria said, "We're not a cruising altitude yet, by the time we _are_, we'll be going down."

"Cool," Ruby said, leaning back, "I'm gonna rest my eyes, Nick's call and an alien woke me up this morning."

"You sound way, _way _too blase about that," Maria said.

"You get used to weird stuff," Ruby yawned.

\- X **Ruby **X-

_Ruby's eyes snapped open at the noise of the door being smashed open, Johnny's voice booming through the house, "Ruby! Come down here, we need you!"_

_Ruby slid out of bed, glancing at Blake, who was glaring at the door with a growl, "Uh…"_

"_Go see what Johnny wants," Blake said, "but if it isn't really important, I'm clobbering him for not waiting till morning for it."_

"_And tell Blake to keep Elsa up there!" Johnny barked._

_Both of them shared a worried look, before springing out of bed, Ruby hammering down the hall and grabbing the rail to spin onto the stairs, taking them three at a time while Blake ran to Elsa's bedroom. Sliding into the living room, Ruby watched the flaming skeleton grapple with a teenage girl with glowing red eyes, "Son of a-"_

_Ruby dove towards the counter, grabbing a revolver and a lignum vitae bullet, only stopping at Johnny's roared, "NO!"_

"_What?" Ruby turned, watching the vampire latch her fangs around Johnny's radial. The Hellfire that burned in the Rider recoiled unnaturally from her, leaving Ruby blinking, "...the hell?"_

"_She's innocent," Johnny insisted, "We have to save her."_

"_Save her?" Ruby asked, "She's already turned, Johnny, we can't-!"_

"_Blood," Johnny snapped, latching one skeletal hand against the girl's head and beginning to pull it back, latching the other hand to her lower jaw and forcing it open, "Your blood!"_

"_My what now?"_

"_Your Blood!" Johnny repeated, struggling to keep the mouth open, "Please, trust me! The spirit says it will work!"_

"_Fine," Ruby slid the gun back into the storage spot, grabbing a combat knife and walking forward, "but if this doesn't work… we have to."_

"_I know," Johnny said._

Ruby's eyes flicked open at the shaking, looking up at Maria with tired eyes, "We here?"

"Yes."

"Good to hear," Ruby said, hitting the release for her harness a bit too hard… by which she meant she broke the thing, "Sorry…"

"It's fine," Maria said, "Shouldn't take more than a day to get it replaced, and we have plenty of Quinjets."

"Still," Ruby said, grabbing the bag and stepping off the plane, sucking in a breath of salty air, "Shoulda been more careful. Are we on an aircraft carrier?"

"Yes," Maria said.

"Then what happens if we need to get to the other side of the world? Last I heard, you couldn't take one of these through the Panama Canal."

Maria smirked, "You'll see. Can I take it from that you're working on a engineering degree?"

"Nope," Ruby said, "is there a place I can set up my stuff?"

"All members of the Avengers Initiative will be living in the dignitary quarters," Maria said.

"You have that?" Ruby asked, "Shouldn't that be on a different boat?"

"This one is meant to be completely autonomous," Maria explained, "Which is why it's a good bit bigger than the Navy's carriers. SHIELD doesn't have the resources to fund a strike team to go with it. Come on, I'll bring you to your quarters before we meet with Director Fury."

"Sounds good," Ruby said, "how many people are gonna be on this team?"

"Five," Maria said, "You'll meet them soon."

\- X **Tony **X-

Tony leaned back, tapping the tablet with a bored sigh, "So, there was just a landing, how much ya want to bet this is our mysterious girl?"

"Did you… hack their sensors?" the soft voiced man said.

"Yep."

"On a _tablet_?"

"Yep."

"That- that can't be legal," he said, "You can't just hack a military organization's files like that!"

"Well," Tony said, "guess what I just did?"

"Give me an excuse to have you thrown in the brig of this ship when we're done?" Tony froze for the tiniest instance, before meeting the eye of Nick Fury, who strode into the room with a blond man and a red headed woman.

"You wouldn't do that," Tony said.

"Really?" Fury said, "and why is that?"

"Because if you do, I'll get out, and leak the file-"

"Shot, then," Fury said, arms crossed behind his back, "this might surprise you Stark, but the world does not end with you. That information could get my men killed if leaked, if that means you have to die to keep those men safe, then I won't hesitate to do it."

"That's a bit much-" the man that entered the room with Fury started.

"I have countless agents out there, Captain, men and woman with families. One life, especially the life of a man who has implicitly threatened to leak their info, is not a bit much. Having him, his friends and their families executed would be 'a bit much'. This, this would be a necessary sin."

Tony reached for his reactor as Fury leveled a gun at his head, eyes wide, "Woah, woah, there's no need to be like that, Fury…!"

"Put the tablet down,'" Fury said, one eye icy, "this is your only warning, Tony."

"Fury, that's-" the man started to say, only to be cut off by the woman.

Tony dropped it, the gun still leveled at him when the door sprang open, a cheerful voice entering the room, "Alright, Nick, what do you- why are you pointing an empty gun at- is that Howard's kid?"

"...It's empty?" Tony said, voice weak as he took a moment to stare at the gun. Fury moved his other hand, revealing the magazine, before worked the slide, no bullet coming out.

"I still need you, Stark," Fury said, reloading his gun and storing it, "Now, all of you take a seat, and I'll begin to explain what's going on."

"What about introductions?" the short haired woman said.

"We'll do those quickly," Fury said, "Tony Stark-"

"So he is!" the woman said triumphantly.

"Yes," Fury said with a tired sigh, "head of Stark Industries and Iron Man. Bruce Banner, the Hulk-"

"Uh, yeah," Banner said, holding out his hand, "Nice to meet you…"

"The big, green roar-y guy?"

"He's uh… yeah," Banner said.

"Cool," the woman said, flopping next to him and taking his hand, shaking it without a flinch before unzipping the bag she was carrying, "I'm Ruby Rose, no codename."

"You'll get one," Fury said, "What are you doing?"

"Gonna work on my baby while we talk," Rose said pulling out a set of tools, ammo, a lever action sawed off, and a large red box, "That good with you?"

"Whatever. This is Natasha Romanov," Fury waved to the red head, "the Black Widow."

She gave a curt nod, taking a seat across from Banner and Rose, "Been a few years since I've seen you, Ruby."

"Same," Rose said.

"Great," Tony said, shaking of the remaining nerves. He needed some sort of defensive weapon, "it's a reunion."

"And finally," Fury said, waving to the last man, "We have Steve Rogers, Captain America."

"Nice to meet you all," Rogers said, smiling, before looking at Rose, "Do I… uh… do I know you? You seem familiar…"

"Don't think so," Rose said, unfolding the red box into a massive sniper rifle, causing Tony's eyebrows to jump up. That was… unique…

"You mind if I take a look at that, later?" Tony asked. Now that Rogers mentioned it...

"Feel free," Rose said, grabbing a tool.

"Back on topic," Fury said, pacing.

\- X **Ruby **X-

"Shoot," Ruby said, working on the mecha shift with her tools, sticking out her tongue. Wouldn't do to have Crescent Rose jam up on her in the middle of combat, especially with a god.

"Yesterday, at 0200 hours," Fury started, "a-"

"Sorry," Tony said, holding up his hand, "did you actually-"

"-a SHIELD base was attacked," Fury said, practically snarling, "by an alien, god _thing _named Loki. He then destroyed the base, slaughtered my men and stole an artifact of importance known as the Tesseract."

"Oh, no," Steve breathed, leaning forward and planting his hand into his face, "no, no…"

"Yes, Captain," Fury said.

"Sorry," Bruce said, "What's this tesseract?"

"Fourth dimensional equivalent of a cube," Tony answered, like that explained everything.

"I know _that_," Bruce said, "I mean what does this one do? Why'd this guy steal it?"

"You should have left in in the arctic," Steve said, the slightest amount of bitterness leaking into his voice.

"It's a potential source of limitless clean energy," Fury defended, "That's worth too much to leave there, Captain. I called you here, all of you, to find it and retrieve it, because that same power in the wrong hands could be beyond destructive."

"And SHIELD is the right hands?" Ruby asked, looking up at Fury.

"They're better than Loki's," Fury said, deliberately and unflinchingly meeting her eye.

"You threatened me with a gun," Tony said, "and you expect me to fight someone for you?"

"For the same reason I pointed the gun at you," Fury said, "to save people. Everyone in this room is a genius, or a warrior, or, in your case, Stark, both. The Avengers Initiative was designed to create a team to fight the fights we can't. The fate of the world is on your shoulders. If you think you can live with yourself, the door is that way. I'll have you flown back home. But if you want to stay on this team, even if it's for just one job, it would be appreciated.

"I'm staying," Ruby said.

"Same," Steve nodded.

"I am too," Natasha said.

"...Fine," Tony said, "one job, one job… and then I'm done. I'm not part of your little club, Fury, got that?"

"What about you, Banner?" Fury asked.

"You want the other guy," Banner said.

"We want you," Fury said, "the Tesseract releases gamma radiation, and you're the world's expert on it, so if anyone can track it, it's you. You don't even need to leave the Helicarrier, if you don't want to."

"...Sure," Bruce said, "are there labs on this?"

"Yes," Fury said, "I'll show you them later. For now, get to know your teammates. I'm needed on the Bridge."

Fury turned, striding from the room, Romanoff with him.

\- X **Bruce **X-

Bruce tried to stop wringing his hands as he walked around the room, feeling the other guy rumble, but also a glowing sense of spiteful victory. He was wanted for his intelligence, that's why they had chose him.

"So," Stark said, leaning across the table from Rose, "What is that weapon of yours?

"Crescent Rose is a High-Caliber, Anti-Material Sniper Scythe," Rose said.

"Ok," Stark said, "first, you named your weapon? Second, _sniper scythe_?"

"Of course I named her," Rose said, indignation leaking into her voice, "why wouldn't I? And second…"

A startled curse slipped from Bruce's mouth as she hit a button on Crescent Rose, a massive scythe blade unfolding from the gun like a bayonet, "Holy-!"

"Huh," Stark said, not flinching, "I guess you're super strong or something? Because otherwise, a full metal weapon like that must be a bitch to swing."

"Yep!" she chirped, smiling.

"Mind if I try lifting it?" Captain Rogers asked, "just curious about the weight."

"Sure," Rose held out the scythe, letting Rogers grab it and lift it like a weight.

"Not that heavy," Rogers said, more to himself than them, "wouldn't want to swing it one handed though, because I'd probably lose control of it…"

"So would anyone," Bruce said, "That's simple physics."

"Yeah," Stark said, picking up the tablet and fiddling with it,"...You mind if I ask you guys a question?"

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked.

"Turning off the cameras and taps here," Stark said, "I don't care what Fury thinks, he doesn't get to spy on our conversations. You fine with that, Jolly Green?"

"Jolly green-?" Bruce said, fists clenching, "I'm not the Other Guy!"

"Well, do you have a problem with me keeping Fury out for a few minutes, uh… Doctor Banner? Bruce?"

"Not really," Bruce said, "What's your question, Tony?"

"Does this seem… weird, to any of you?"

"What do you mean?" Rogers asked.

"I mean, why were they messing around with this Tesseract thing," Tony said, "if it's a source of 'limitless clean energy', how hard is it to stick the thing in a power plant? Why was it in a SHIELD base, how did it get tracked by an alien?"

"He as a point," Bruce said, slowly, "if this thing is releasing enough gamma radiation to be tracked… that's a lot."

"So, what?" Rose said, frowning, "You think there's something more?"

"Maybe…" Tony said, crossing his arms.

"Does it really matter?" Rogers asked, "The Tesseract still is with this Loki creep."

"Yeah," Tony said, "Yeah, it does. How can we be sure this isn't gonna be used for something bad?"

"He has a point," Bruce said, "Nuclear energy is clean too, but the most destructive weapons we've ever made comes from it."

"I stopped the Parasit," Rogers said. An awkward silence fell across the room, Bruce finding it impossible to meet the eyes of Captain America. He didn't know? "What happened?"

Nothing, none of the three capable of answering the question. None of them seemed to know how to answer it, until finally, Ruby broke the silence, "Two bombs."

"Where'd we lose?" Rogers asked, voice hoarse.

"No where," Ruby said.

"You expect me to believe that? Where did we lose?"

"The US didn't lose anywhere, Steve," Ruby said, "America did it."

\- X **Steve **X-

Steve stared at the three with an open mouth, mind swirling, "What?"

"Two bombs," Rose repeated, "fifteen and twenty kiloton yield, on two Japanese cities to end the war."

"No," Steve shook his head, "no, we would never-!"

"But we did," Tony Stark said, standing up and looking around the room for something, "Dad helped on it, you know?"

"Why-!"

"Because it was war, Captain," Tony said, "and Project Rebirth fell through."

"So we killed innocents?" Steve demanded, "We-!"

"We already were doing it when you went under the ice," Tony said without flinching, "same year, we firebombed Dresden."

"And that makes it justified!?" Steve snarled, stomping towards Tony.

"No," Tony said, "it doesn't! But it happened, Rogers. It suc-"

Before either of them could get any closer, an orange barrier sprang between them, and Ruby stood from her spot, orange energy wafting off her left eye, "Enough."

"I-!"

"I said," Ruby's eye flashed, the barrier shoving Steve back from Tony, "Enough. Nobody here is defending what happened, Steve. But it did happen, and it happened long before either of them were born. We can't go back to change it. Right now, we need to find the Tesseract, because it can be used to create a bomb worse than either of the ones that Howard helped make."

"Can we be sure that they want to use it as a weapon?" Bruce asked, "How do we know that SHIELD wasn't doing that, and this Loki guy got involved to stop them?"

"An alien smashed down my door this morning," Ruby said, "So I'd put money on 'take me to your leader'. Not saying the Tesseract in SHIELD's hands is a good thing, but…"

"Preferable to Loki," Bruce said, "Right."

"So, let's get on it," Tony said, tapping a button on the tablet, "Fury? We're ready to work!"

\- X **Johnny **X-

Johnny Blaze stopped from where he was lifting a shot to his mouth, feeling the familiar, miserable feeling of the alcohol in his system burning away, "Really?"

**Yes. We have work to do.**

"What?" the bartender asked.

"Not talking to you," Johnny said, downing the shot and flicking out a pair of bills, handing it to the man, "keep the change."

"This is way to much-!"

"Don't care," Johnny said, standing up and walking towards the door with a wave. Once outside, he flicked open his cell, hitting Ruby's number and waited for her to pick up. When she didn't, a worried scowl grew on his face. Ruby always answered her work phone…

Hitting the second number, Johnny paced, waiting for-

"Hello?" Johnny bit back a sigh. Of course it would be her…

"Hey, Blake," Johnny said, "Is Ruby around? I got a job."

"No," Blake said, an audible frown in her voice, "She got a job from SHIELD."

**So they know**, the rasping voice in Johnny's head said.

"Looks like it," Johnny said under his breath, then louder, "Right, Thanks Blake. How's Elsa doing?"

"Good," Blake said, "Johnny… do you have any idea what's going on?"

"I wish," Johnny said, "Z's being a stubborn son of a bitch. Did Ruby finish that order before she left?"

"I think so," Blake said, "Why?"

"We might be over to pick it up some time in the next day or two," Johnny said, finger hovering over the button to hang up.

"Fine," Blake said, "See you then."

Johnny hit the button, before scrolling down the list and hitting the call button. This one, unsurprisingly given the time, went straight to voicemail, "Eric, I know you can hear this. I'm gonna be there soon, be ready, or I'm dragging your ass out of bed."

Hanging up, Johnny scrolled down one more and hit the number.

"Johnny!" the last person answered in no time, a cheerful female voice immediately coming through, "What's up?"

"Got a job for us," Johnny said, "I'll be there in about an hour, ok?"

"Just the two of us?"

"Nope," Johnny said, putting his keys in the ignition, "picking up Eric too, and Ruby's probably gonna be on site by the time we get there. Blake'll take care of Shogo."

"Good to hear!" she said, "see you then."

"See you then, Jubilee," Johnny said, hanging up, "Where is this even gonna go down?"

**Likely**? the Spirit of Vengeance rasped, **New York. Billions have died from these beasts, we shall bring them punishment.**

**\- X AN X-**

Thoughts and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	2. Chapter 2

Jubilee put on her visor and the large, floppy hat she had bought to cover her head after 'the incident'. Sliding a lollipop into her mouth and pulling on the riding gloves and trenchcoat, she slung the bag holding her hunting weapons over her shoulder, "Shogo~!"

"Muhmuh?" the toddler looked up.

"We're going to see Auntie Blake!"

"Aun!" Shogo cheered, standing up and waddling over to Jubilee, who scooped him up, "Aun Rubie?"

"No, Ruby isn't there," Jubilee said, cutting off the tears as fast as she could, "but I'm sure you can see her when we get back."

"Yeh!" Shogo said, sticking his arms up. Stepping out of the apartment, Jubilee winced against the bright L.A. sunlight shining through the windows. She wouldn't ever give it up, but it did suck when she had to go out in the day.

"About time you got out here," Jubilee gave a tired look at Johnny, who was leaning between two windows, "You look ridiculous."

"And you look like you haven't showered in, like, three weeks," Jubilee shot back, struggling to keep Shogo from squirming out of her hand.

Johnny smirked, reaching out to rub Shogo's head, "Hey, kiddo, the brat treating you well?"

"U'cle!" Shogo said.

"Yeah, it's me," Johnny said, laughing, "C'mon, we got shit to do."

"Can you not swear around my kid?" Jubilee said with a sigh.

"Whatever," Johnny said, walking forward and into the elevator, "Come on."

"Going to Ruby and Blake's?"

"Not yet," Johnny said, hitting the button to take them to the ground floor, "New Orleans first."

"Why there?"

"Eric is there at the mo," Johnny said, "Rumor has it that Frost was there."

"Chances of this turning into two jobs?"

"Low as low can be," Johnny stepped out of the elevator and grabbing the chain on his hip, "Frost knows that any monster hunter worth their salt holds him right after the big one on vamps who need to be staked, and that Eric is always on his tail, so he doesn't stay around anywhere very long."

Johnny stopped next to his motorcycle, eyes flickering around before the flesh on his face burned away, leaving a skull crackling with hellfire. The flames slid down his leather coat without harm, before lighting the chain on fire. Throwing it, the chain moved like a snake, forming a ring in the air, the space within distorting like a heat haze.

"You go first," Johnny said, his voice taking on a burning growl, "I need to bring the bike through."

Jubilee casually hopped through the portal, the temperature dropping a few degrees as rain water began to drop on Shogo and her. Behind them, she heard Johnny start the bike, and she rushed to the side of the alley. Johnny jerked forward a few yards, the bike stopping and his chain dropping to the ground, "How close are we?"

"About a street away," Johnny said, "let's go."

\- X **Eric **X-

Eric Brook's eyes jumped open, his senses practically snarling at him as he grabbed the Spectre M4 he had bought in the eighties, loading the magazine and loping over to the door of the hotel room. With his other hand, he gripped the teak wood stake.

Who was it? Some newly turned walker thinking they could kill him to make a name for themselves? Hitmen from Frost? Dracula? Who-?

"I swear to any god that listens," the familiar voice of Johnny Blaze came through the door, "if this door swings open and you have a weapon trained on us, I'm breaking it."

"What do you want?" Eric asked, not breaking the grip on his weapons.

"We have a job," Johnny said with a sigh, "You know the gun wouldn't do anything to me, right?"

"It'd affect the walker," Eric said, angling the gun so if he fired through the door, it would hit her.

"She's on our side, Eric."

Sure, she was now. But in the Daywalker's life, he had only ever met a single walker who he could trust without doubt, and it had taken the better part of a century to reach that point. He highly doubted this one would reach the same.

But both Johnny and Ruby did.

Sighing, Eric stored his gun and dagger away, swinging the door open… and promptly locked up as he stared at the toddler cradled protectively in the walker's arms, Johnny standing halfway in front of her with hellfire burning in his eyes. Goddamnit, he could have…

"U'cle Ric!" the toddler babbled happily, unaware of the tension between the three monster hunters.

"Hey, kid," Eric said, giving a wan smile, before meeting Johnny's eyes, "What do we have?"

"I don't know," Johnny said, "Something bad enough that the Spirit won't let me get drunk till it's dealt with. You remember what it was last time."

That idiot messing with the Darkhold, Dracula gunning for the same. Embracings across LA, portals opening below it. The Masters of the Mystic Arts dragging anything supernatural through the mirror. If the Spirit was acting like this…

"Where?"

"New York," Johnny said, "Why?"

"Wondering if there's a progenitor in there," Eric said, more to himself than anyone.

"If there is, they're morons," Johnny said, "Why not hide out somewhere hunters can't find them?"

"Because most Hunters would die fighting them," Eric shot back, "Most aren't you or Ruby."

Johnny inclined his head, "Point. So, you in?"

Eric chewed air for a few seconds, before nodding, "Fine. We taking a portal to New York?"

"The House, first," Johnny said, "Ruby was working on some specialty rounds for me."

"Planning to drag her into it?" Eric asked, "That's why Blake hates you."

"No," Johnny didn't rise to the jab, "she's already been dragged off by that spy group."

\- X **Jubilee **X-

Jubilee sat in the back of Eric's car, cradling Shogo, who continued to happily babble without noticing the tension between the two of them. Finally, Eric broke the silence, "How's LA been treating you?"

"Why do you care?" Jubilee shot back, "You seemed ready to shoot me and Shogo a few minutes ago."

"I wouldn't have thought of firing on you if I knew you were holding him," Eric said.

"But you still would have shot me if I wasn't," Jubilee argued.

"Every walker wants something," Eric said, "even the Mortuus."

"The Mortwhatnow?" Jubilee asked.

"The Mortuus Invitus," Eric said, before sticking his head out of the car, "Open the portal already!"

"And these Mort guys are… what now?"

"People who turned and were able to throw off the compulsion to serve," Eric said, grabbing the shift stick and moving the car forward, plunging through the portal and sending the temperature dropping by a noticeable amount.

"And you didn't tell me these guys exist!?" Jubilee demanded, "What if I staked one!?"

"They still drain humans," Eric said, "Against Drac- Motherfucker..."

"Language!" Jubilee barked, covering Shogo's ears before following it up, "What?"

"Johnny!" Eric called, stepping out of the car, drawing his gun, "You need to come quick!"

"What's-" the words died in Jubilee's throat as she stared at the broken doorway, putting Shogo back in the car and rolling up the tinted windows with the crank, "Stay there."

"Muhmuh?" Shogo looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Mama will be right back," Jubilee said, doing her best to keep her son from seeing the worry she felt, before shutting the door. When she turned, Eric was offering her a pistol, one of the ones that was always on TV…

"I hope you know how to use this?" Eric said.

"Of course!" Jubilee said, snagging the gun from Eric, finger on the trigger, and frowning at his wince, "What?"

"Don't put your finger on the trigger unless you see something you know you want dead," Eric chided, "You wouldn't believe the number of Hunters that get their partner killed that way."

"Sorry," Jubilee moved her finger off the trigger.

"Just… be more careful," Eric said, "I don't want Shogo or Elsa getting hurt by mistake. You probably wouldn't be able to live with yourself."

"Thanks," Jubilee smiled at Eric. Maybe he wasn't-

"**What the hell happened**?" Both locked up, whirling in place as they watched Johnny step off the motorcycle, flames coiling around him.

"Johnny," Eric said, only for Johnny to push his way past Eric and storm towards the door. Jubilee and Eric shared a worried look, before rushing after him.

"Ruby!?" Johnny called, as they joined him in the house, "Ruby!? Elsa!?"

"They're not here right now," Jubilee breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes landing on Blake sitting on the couch, her laptop in her lap.

"What do you mean?" Johnny said, "Where are they?"

"I told you," Blake said, "SHIELD grabbed Ruby for a job this morning."

"And Elsa?" Johnny snapped, hellfire glimmering in his eyes.

"At school," Blake said, "and she should be for another hour."

"You mind telling us what happened to the door, so Jubilee can go get her son and Johnny can stop going into a meltdown?" Eric said.

"An alien smashed it down."

"...Sorry, what?" Jubilee asked.

"Go get Shogo," Blake said, "I'll explain when you get back."

-X **Ruby **X-

"We've got a trace on him," Ruby's eyes jumped to meet Fury's, the near silence of the room finally being broken. Fury walked over, sitting across from Ruby, "What happened when Stark turned off the bugs?"

"Nothing," Ruby replied, voice soft as she worked on Crescent Rose.

"You expect me to believe that?" Fury asked, "Rogers is pummeling some sandbags down in the workout room, and he's already broke ten."

"...We told him about the bombs," Ruby said, eyes downcast, gripping the screwdriver so hard it groaned.

"Oh," Fury said, nodding, "That would do it."

"Why didn't you tell him?" Ruby asked, meeting his eye again.

"How do you tell a man who gave up everything to stop a weapon from destroying the country he loves that the same country used the weapon to end the war?" Fury asked.

"So instead you left it to him to find out on his own?" Ruby asked.

"We wanted to give him time to adjust, to learn to appreciate the modern day before we told him the cost of it."

"And instead you just shot yourself in the foot," Ruby said, "Why would he trust SHIELD now?"

"Howard helped found us," Fury said, "So did Peggy."

"Howard also helped with the Manhattan Project," Ruby said.

"And he regretted it to the day he died," Fury said, "You know that, right?"

"Sure didn't act like it," Ruby muttered.

"He did," Fury's voice grew softer, "There's a pair of files at Level Ten… one for you and one of Rogers."

"He thought I'd be in charge of SHIELD?" Ruby asked in bemusement, "I can barely keep a small team working."

"Finish this mission, and I'll give it to you. There's nothing really classified in it."

"You looked at them?"

"They're Level Ten," Fury defended, "I'm Level Ten, therefore I'm allowed to look at them."

"You said you found the Tese-thing?" Ruby said, crossing her arms and trying to keep the amused smile off her face. What was it Howard used to say? Spies were the type of people who wanted to know everyone else's business, but hated when someone went in their own.

"We found Loki," Fury stood, pacing, "It's a bit too obvious."

"Why?"

"He's walking around Germany in… well, broad daylight isn't the right term. But the point is, he's not hiding. That's why I'm sending you and Rogers in. I want him down fast and hard."

"And how are we getting to Germany?" Ruby asked, "It's hours away."

"We've already contacted the German government, they've given us permission to put you on a Quinjet and go all out. It'll still take a couple of hours, but it's better than nothing. Suit up, you take off in ten."

"Weapons?"

"You're fighting a god," Fury said, "I'm not restricting you."

Ruby nodded, folding Crescent Rose and standing, "Ok."

"And Agent," Fury said, pausing before leaving the room, "Welcome back."

"I'm not an agent anymore!" Ruby called, before packing the other weapons with a sigh. She didn't know if any of the specialty rounds she had would work on a god, so she would stick with Crescent Rose.

-X **Johnny **X-

"What the hell am I looking at, Blake?" Johnny asked, scowling at the tarped monstrosity hidden behind Ruby's workshed.

"A UFO, apparently," Blake said, "There's an alien in the shed."

Johnny's body jerked forward like a marionette puppet, hellfire leaking out of his mouth, "What the hell, Z?"

**Burn it**, the spirit growled.

"What?"

**They Have Slaughtered More Than You Could Know!** the Spirit roared, hellfire in his voice, **They Have Blood On Their Hands Beyond Anything You Have Seen! Burn! It!**

"Jubilee," Johnny said, "Bring Shogo inside."

"Sorry?"

"Just do it," Johnny said, the flames growing, "Don't want your kid traumatized."

Once Jubilee had vanished into the house, Johnny threw open the doors to the shed and stopped struggling against the Spirit. And when the spirit took over after a struggle, things got… bad.

Pain spiked through the Ghost's body, sending him doubling over with a guttural groan. Before his eyes, he watched the skin of his hands begin to glow with an inner light. Biting his cheek so hard he drew blood, Johnny had only a second to taste the metallic flavor before his tongue burned away.

For a single moment, Johnny was plunged into blackness as his eyes ruptured, flames coiling out of his empty sockets and eating his hair. When his vision returned to him, the hands planted on the ground were pale white, the last scraps of skin flaking off. The Ghost Rider stood up, feet creating a heavy thud as he walked forward.

What were they doing?

**Destroying the body**, the Spirit rumbled, reaching their arm down and grabbing the alien by the throat. Staring at the missing head, a deep, rumbling laugh was drawn from the Spirit, **Though I suppose Blake already did one part of that for us.**

Blake? Blake was the one who did this?

**You underestimate her, Johnny**, the Spirit said, **She has a darker past than you might expect**.

What was that-

"**Were there any others**?" The Spirit asked.

"Ruby dealt with the others," Blake said.

"**Good**," the Spirit purred, his grip on the neck getting so tight that flaming finger marks were left on it, "**Very good. Now…**"

The entire alien exploded into flames, a ghostly shriek echoing through Johnny's mind, while Eric staggered back and Blake flinched from the heat. Dropping the alien's carbonized body, the Rider stomped down on it, shattering the frame.

"You know what they are?" Blake asked.

"**Only in the way I know all sinners**," The Spirit said, stepping around her, "Th**e way I know all who need Vengeance brought upon them."**

"What are they, then?" Eric asked, gripping his M1911, keeping it trained on the Rider.

"**Sinners**," the Spirit said, "**there are worst ones in this universe, on an individual basis. Their lord for example, but as a race there isn't one much worse. If they're the invasion, well… it will be a very, very dark time. New York, Johnny, New York**."

And with that, the Hellfire rolled back into Johnny, his muscles and skin reforming, his hair returning, even the stubble on his face coming back. The three's eyes met, Blake's lips pressed tight.

"You're going to New York, then?"

"Yes."

"Make sure Ruby comes back on one piece," Blake said.

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby stood on the edge of the building next to Steve, Crescent Rose unfolded as they watched the god stride through the crowd. Natasha's voice came through their ears, "_Remember, you just need to hold him long enough for me to get there."_

"Roger that," Steve said, before dropping his hand and turning to Ruby, "Thanks."

"Uh… You're welcome?" Ruby said. What was she being thanked for?

"You were right," Steve said, "Stark and Banner… they weren't alive yet when the war ended. Even if they were, they wouldn't have made the decision to use the bombs, or help make them. Getting angry at them was a mistake."

Ruby nodded, giving a small smile, "Ready?"

"Yes," Steve said, before launching himself off the roof, landing in front of the man Loki was about to blast. Ruby took a few steps back, before activating her Semblance and using the momentum to send herself flying, barely missing a raven, "You know, that last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everyone… we ended up disagreeing."

If there was one thing she missed about the 1800s, it was the cloaks. Back then, you could get away with wearing a cloak without getting a weird look from everyone. And her Semblance looked so, _so_ much cooler when the petals looked like they were coming off a billowing cloak.

"The soldier, the man out of time," Loki said, before snapping his scepter up, blocking Crescent Rose with it as Ruby landed behind him, "And the huntress. You got my invitation, then?"

"The Aliens?" Ruby asked, continuing to try to pull Crescent Rose backwards to bisect Loki.

"Chitauri," Loki corrected, "Yes. They're dead, I take it?"

"Yep," Ruby said, the Bloodstone pouring energy into her, "You attacked my home."

"Yes."

"You were a danger to my daughter!" Ruby barked, slamming an empowered knee into the back of his spine. Loki paused for a second, letting Ruby drag the scythe closer. Then Loki rapped his staff onto the ground, blasting Ruby back and Crescent Rose forward. Ruby rolled up, watching Loki walk forward.

"You have my apologies," Loki said, staff leveled at her, "truly, you do. I know little in the universe is more dangerous than a mother protecting her cu-"

Loki whirled in place, barely deflecting the thrown shield from Steve. At the same time, Ruby activated her Semblance, rushing forward to punch him. Before she could hit him, Loki smashed his staff into the ground, the temperature dropping like a rock.

Ruby dodged around the first spike of ice, waving at the few civilians who were foolhardy enough to stay around, "Run! Run!"

One of them paused, before running forward. That wasn't what-

"Fangen!" She called, doing her best to throw Crescent Rose to Ruby, only for it to only go a handful of inches. Ruby turned, rushing to grab Crescent Rose and running towards Loki and Steve.

\- X **Jubilee **X-

Jubilee followed Johnny into the shed, watching him throw open a bulkhead with a bemused laugh, "Ruby has a secret bunker?"

"Gotta do the work somewhere," Johnny said, clomping down the stairs, "Wouldn't make anyone happy if Elsa came in and messed with a gun or something, would it?"

Jubilee followed him down and was very quickly disappointed. The 'bunker', as it were, was just a basement with a variety of weapons strewn around the room and several workbenches. Looking at the set of wrenches on one of the benches, Jubilee winced at the fractions.

Dang dyscalculia.

"What are we doing?" Jubilee asked.

"Grabbing some gear," Johnny said, stepping around the room with hellfire in his eyes, "Be careful, some of these weapons are older than me."

Grabbing a shotgun off the wall, Johnny pumped the slide on it, nodding to himself and slinging it over her shoulder.

"But why are we grabbing it?" Jubilee said, touching an old fashioned musket before her eyes were drawn to a gun in the back of the room. A red and bronze rifle hanging over a shield the same color, seemingly maintained with fanatical care compared to the obvious wear on most of the obvious weapons, "We're super strong, you can make flames. You know…"

Walking towards the gun, Jubilee reached for it, only for Johnny to latch his hand around her forearm, "Don't."

"But-"

"Listen. Ruby really doesn't care what gun you take. Any other gun in this room, no matter how rare it is? She wouldn't care. But nobody, and I mean _nobody_, other than her and Blake touch that gun," Johnny said, "Understand?"

"But why?" Jubilee asked.

"I don't know for sure," Johnny said, "They don't talk about it… but I think whoever that gun belonged to is gone. Long gone."

"Oh," Jubilee said, dropping her hand to her side, "Oh."

"We all lose someone in this line of work," Johnny said, looking under a table for something, "Sooner or later, there's that incident you fail. The one where the monster gets away, and someone dies. And that is the incident that haunts you. The one you think about when other Hunters cheer that you're in the area. The one that drives you to extremes that turn you into a boogeyman to monsters. The one where staking a vampire isn't enough, you stake them, then you cut off the head and then you burn both parts just be absolutely certain that the fucker isn't coming back."

"Johnny," Jubilee said, stepping forward.

"And that's for a normal vamp," Johnny said, "For the one that did it? If you ever find them, you stake them, cut off all the limbs, wait till sunrise and burn it."

"Johnny-" Jubilee started again

"Anyways," Johnny said, standing up and pushing a sheathed jian into Jubilee hand, "That's for you. Ruby had to call in some old debts to get it made."

"Uh… thank-"

"Johnny!" Eric's voice came from above them, "get your ass up here now! We have sight on Ruby!"

"You sure?" Johnny said, storming upstairs, "How?"

"She's on television," Eric said, "Germany."

Johnny and Jubilee shared a worried look, before following him into the house. Sure enough, on the screen, Ruby was standing alongside a man with a red, white, and blue shield, watching a man holding a bladed scepter.

Jubilee crashed next to Blake, grabbing Shogo from her while Johnny began to pace, eyes trained on the screen.

-X **Steve **X-

Steve looked up at the flying vehicle above them, doing his best to deflect blasts from Loki while Ruby fired at him. If the shots were affecting the god, he wasn't showing it.

Loki looked up at the vehicle, a smirk appearing on his face as the icy air around him formed into a spear in his offhand, "Some form of recording device, for delivering news, I assume?"

"Steve," Ruby said, "Throw me."

"What?"

"Throw me," Ruby repeated, "up. Now."

"Allow me to use you to deliver a message," Loki pulled back the spear.

"Now!"

"I am Loki! Rightful king of Jotunheim," Loki said, throwing the spear at the vehicle, "and this world!"

Steve moved in a blur, grabbing Ruby by the scruff of her suit and throwing her into the air before spinning, using the moment Loki was distracted throwing the spear to nail his shield into the god's chest. Above him, a sickening squelch echoed across the square, followed by a heavy thud.

Steve turned, watching Ruby's body move down the icy spear until it hit the ground. Steeling himself, Steve rushed at Loki, catching his shield and clobbering Loki between the eyes. Loki staggered back, blood running down his forehead, before he began to deflect Steve's attacks with his spear.

Steve grit his teeth, feeling the jolts in his arm from the force of the attacks. Loki blasted Steve back with a shot from the spear.

"_I'm coming in_," Romanoff said, "_ETA 2 minutes."_

Steve didn't answer, focusing on fighting with Loki. Deflecting a strike for the heart, Steve hammered his forehead into Loki's nose, shattering it with a loud crunch. Then, Ruby flowed under them, the icy spear in her hands.

What the heck?

Steve looked back in bewilderment, noticing the small puddle of blood where she had lay. Looking back, he saw the hole in her outfit where the injury should have been.

Above them, the gun of the Quinjet locked into place and Romanoff's voice echoed through the area, "It's over, Loki. Put the weapon-"

Loki kneed Ruby in the jaw, blasting at the Quinjet with is staff… which drifted aside, revealing a red and gold meteor that smashed into Loki, knocking him aside and helping Ruby up. Tony's voice came from the armor, "You alright?"

"I want a look at that when we get back to the Helicarrier," Ruby said, touching her face and rotating her jaw.

"You let me mess around with your weapon, maybe I'll let you mess around with mine," Tony said, before turning his attention to Loki, "Now, as for you… give me a reason, reindeer games."

"Really?" Ruby deadpanned, dropping the spear and stomping on it, before grabbing her scythe and angling it at Loki.

"What? Do you see his hat?" Tony said.

"I surrender," Loki said, dropping the staff, his armor fading and his hands snapping up.

\- X **Blake **X-

Johnny stopped his pacing as Ruby was run through by the spear, looking back at Blake as she gave a loud gasp, her ears flat against her head, "Blake-"

"She's going to be fine," Blake said, more to herself than them, hands clenched tight.

"Of course she is," Jubilee said, putting down Shogo to pull the older woman into a hug… and letting Johnny see out the window with a stifled curse.

"This is why I don't like her going out on these jobs," Blake said, voice shaking, "Do you know what it's like to watch the woman you love die, over and over aga-?"

"Where are you going?" Eric hissed at Johnny, who handed off the Benelli M3 to the Daywalker.

"Running damage control," Johnny said, "Unless you want to be the one to explain to Elsa why her mom is dead on TV?"

Eric's eyes grew wide under his goggles, before he gave a sharp nod. Johnny nodded back, before stepping out of the room and down the hall. Stopping in the doorway, Johnny gave a smirk at Elsa as she hammered towards them.

"Uncle Johnny?" Elsa said, "What are you doing here?"

"Me, Eric and Jubilee are going on a hunting trip, and wanted to see of your mom wanted to come along."

"Mom's not here," Elsa said, "Maybe I could come with you?"

And give Blake more reason to hate his guts? "Maybe when you're older."

"Like after my birthday?"

"Maybe," Johnny hedged, "Anyways, how was school?"

\- X **AN **X-

Thoughts and Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	3. Flashback 1: Blood Meets Blood

So, this was originally gonna be in the next chapter, but I decided that while it explores part of Ruby's past, it's ultimately too tangential _for _the events of the chapter.

\- X Ruby X-

Ruby sat in the back of the Mercedes-Benz 770, adjusting the suit as they drove, before raising her eyebrows at the gun she was being offered, "A Luger?"

"Chambered for .45 Auto," Pete said, lighting a cigarette, "Two of a kind, and we're supposed to return it, so I'd prefer if it didn't get broken. But it'll make you look connected if you get caught."

"I'll do my best," Ruby said, loading the gun with one of the offered mags as they pulled up, storing both under her coat, just before the door was swung open by the valet, "but I'd prefer a 1911…"

"Name?" The British man said.

"Rudy Bloodstone," Ruby said, the fake name flowing off her tongue with ease, the man checked a list he had.

"Bloodstone, Bloodstone… ah, here you are," the valet nodded, "And your companion?"

"My butler, Peter," Ruby said, the practice lie coming just as easily, "He'll be staying in the car."

Ruby had never thought that the lessons Weiss had given about 'polite' society would come in handy, but here they were…

"Of course," the valet stepped aside, "come in, sir."

Ruby stepped out of the car, looking up at the manor with her lips tight. How many people in there knew they were celebrating with a Hydra member?

Nazis, you never knew who was one in this day.

"How old is this manor?" Ruby asked, walking towards the front door as the car pulled away.

"It was built in the late sixteen hundreds, after the first Lord Falsworth was named such," the valet said, opening the door for Ruby, "Please, Sir Bloodstone, mingle."

She wasn't a sir, or a lord… or here to mingle. Scanning the room, Ruby caught sight of the target, pouring a too red liquid from a bottle near the stairs, before offering it to a tall man with black hair and a cape.

Too easy, this was too easy...

Moving behind the Hydra member, Ruby pulled out a dagger and drove it into his back… or would have, if the dagger didn't crush against his skin.

Crud.

The man turned, looking at Ruby while the other man took a deep drink from the gilded goblet, his red eyes trained on them, "It would appear, John, that this girl wants you dead. As I was just informing yo-"

Ruby whipped out the pistol, firing at the target, and stifling the urge to curse worse as the bullets dropped to the ground with a tinkling. John Falsworth bared his teeth at Ruby, revealing fangs while he curled his fingers, claws bursting from his fingertips.

What the heck? Was he some kind of Faunus or somethi-?

Ruby dodged the flurry of blow in a burst of petals, watching him tear into the wall without slowing, and reloaded the pistol while people fled from the room. Pouring her Aura into the gun, she fired the first shot at Falsworth, watching it dig into his skin with a spike of triumph. One that was almost immediately stifled by the blow to her chest that sent her flying across the room and into the wall.

Ruby rolled up, dodging the next strike and pressing the gun against Falsworth's chest and pulled the trigger. The man crashed into her with a hiss, trying to bite into her jugular vein. Ruby got her feet under him, kicking him off her with a growl.

He landed on all four, glowing red eyes glowering at her. Ruby stood up, leveling her gun at him, the Bloodstone sending energy through her veins. When Falsworth launched at her, it was with a guttural roar, his body a blur too fast for the average person to respond too.

Ruby just swayed out of the way, firing her gun into his skull, meeting his eyes again. Since when had Hydra had access to the Super Soldier Serum?

Falsworth's hand lashed out, wrapping around the gun and trying to rip it from Ruby's hand. Ruby just snarled, energy pumping through her, and pulled the trigger. Falsworth howled, letting go of the damaged barrel as burning lead ripped through his hand and smashed into his shoulder.

Well, looks like they weren't getting this gun back.

Throwing aside the gun, Ruby grabbed Howl from its place on her back, the Bowie knife crackling from the Aura she poured into it. At Falsworth's next attack, she rushed within his guard, driving the knife into his heart.

The man locked up, collapsing over Ruby. The Huntress shoved him off her, drawing the knife from his chest and falling back with a pant.

She hadn't had a fight that hard in a long time...

"Interesting," the other man said, walking towards her.

"Who are you?" Ruby demanded.

"I?" The man said, "I am the lord of the night, Dracula."

"Yeah, right," Ruby scoffed.

"I am," the man said, "And I think we'll be meeting again."

Before Ruby could stop him, the man exploded into bats, vanishing into the sky.

\- X AN X-

Thoughts and Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	4. Chapter 3

Psychological meltdown, ho!

\- X **Weiss **X-

The portal opened with a gesture, the sling ring fitting on Weiss's hand with ease. Stepping through the portal and letting it shut, she sucked in a breath of clean, almost sterile air, looking around.

If she was Yang Xiao Long, where in this city would she be? A club? A gym? A-?

Weiss's eyes drifted towards the holographic screen high in the sky, watching Yang's smirking face revolve next to a snarling alien with grey skin.

Tournament. Of course.

Pushing her way through the crowd, Weiss continued to watch the display. Yang was leaning back, a wild grin on her face as she stared at the alien who towered over her, her hands in the pockets of her trench coat. The alien was glaring down at her, a pair of swords in his hands. A symbol appeared on the screen, not one Weiss recognized, but as it faded into another, she quickly figured out that it was a countdowns.

3.

2.

1.

Yang weaved back, the swords singing through air where she had been. Pulling her hands out of the coat, Yang wrapped the yellow and blue cybernetic hand around one hand, driving the remaining gauntlet of Ember Celica into his cheek. Weiss winced as he was blasted back from a burst of blue energy from the weapon, an audible crack echoing from the screen.

Down for the count in a matter of seconds, poor-

The alien staggered up, grabbing the dislocated arm and returning it to the socket with another crack, grabbing the sword and pointing at Yang, a grin on his face. A blue blast flew from the gun hidden in the hilt, striking Yang and sending her skidding back. Snapping her head up, Yang's eyes were bright red, a wild grin on her own face.

Here they went.

Yang punched the air in front of her, blue lightning crackling forward and nearly hitting the giant alien, who barely weaved out of the way, firing another shot at Yang. The blond punched the shot with her cybernetic arm, dispersing it with a loud laugh before she said something in a language Weiss didn't recognize.

The alien laughed back, firing several more shots, which Yang cheerfully took with little more than a stagger as she pulled out a long, yellow metal slat. Swiping a spot in her cybernetic, another slat fell out, blue highlights vanishing from the arm, and when she slotted in the new one, they changed to a lighter blue.

Pointing it at the giant, a blast the same color smashed into his feet, freezing his feet to the ground as Yang charged at him, absorbing each blow. Poor guy didn't even realize he was just making her stronger.

And sure enough, Yang hammered Ember Celica into his face, another blast of electricity flashing as the alien crumbling. Yang laughed, gesturing as the crowd cheered her name.

Weiss rolled her eyes. She did research, Ruby fought a secret war, Blake retired to write but Yang?

Yang goes off to space to become a tournament fighter. Because _of course_ she did.

-X **Yang **X-

Yang leaned against the bar, taking a shot of Asgardian ale, before stopping at the voice from behind her, "Hey."

"This stuff really is strong," Yang muttered to herself, "Works fast too."

"I'm not a drunken hallucination," Weiss said, voice dry as she stepped next to Yang, "but you know that."

"Just teasing ya, Weiss," Yang chuckled.

"That's the worst case of teasing I've ever seen," Weiss deadpanned, "Buy a lady a drink? And don't say you would if there was one around."

"Ruin my fun, why don't you," Yang said, before looking at the bartender, "Get me a bottle of your finest wine."

She nodded, turning and going out back while Yang scanned the room for a table for Weiss and her to sit at. Finding one, Yang nodded for Weiss to grab it, looking at the bartender as she came back, "How much is this gonna cost me, Mox?"

"Twenty units."

"You're kidding," Yang's jaw dropped.

"Nope."

"I could buy a new quad blaster for that much!"

"And if you want to impress your lady friend, you'll be paying for this bottle for that much."

"Fine," Yang grumbled, "and I'll take the rest of that Asgardian stuff. Say what you will about that ego they're supposed to have, but they make good alcohol."

"Forty units, then."

Yang grumbled under her breath, transferring the units before snagging the two bottles and the offered glasses, marching over to Weiss and handing her the wine glass, "Here."

"Thank you," Weiss said, holding out the glass and letting Yang pour some of the wine into it.

"So," Yang said, "How's that studying thing going?"

"Well enough," Weiss held out her hand, a glyph appearing in the palm of her hand… a _red_ glyph.

"That do what I think it does?" Yang nodded to it.

"I'd show you," Weiss said, closing her hand and sipping her wine, giving a hum, "but I doubt the bar would appreciate a fire in the middle of it."

Yang grinned at Weiss, pouring some of the ale in it, "Good. Give you a bit of extra oomph outside your summons."

"That's the point, yes," Weiss said, before pausing, "I still miss Dust, sometimes."

"I don't," Yang said, shrugging at the glare Weiss sent at her, "What? I don't! Needing Dust to power stuff kept us stuck on a world full of freaking Grimm."

"And how many problems did my father cause?" Weiss said, voice soft.

Oh, crap.

"Sooooo," Yang said, "What did ya come for? Got tired of your vacation?"

"Take a drink," Weiss said, pushing the drink into Yang's hand.

"What?"

"It's good," Weiss defended.

"Uh," Yang said, blinking at the wine, "Ok…?"

Yang started to drink, closing her eyes, it was go-

"So, it turns out you have a niece," Yang's eyes sprang open, the wine going down the wrong tube with a gurgle. Yang slammed the glass down, hacking up the alcohol.

"WHAT!?" Yang bellowed in between two coughs, "What do you mean, 'I have a niece'?"

Weiss pulled out a phone that looked similar to a Scroll, pulling up something and pushing it towards Yang, who snatched it up. Ruby was in the black combat suit she owned, Crescent Rose hooked around a man with a horned helmet. Hitting the play button, Yang listened to her little sister snarl, "You were a danger to my daughter!"

Yang stared at the screen, mind ground to a halt. Daughter. Ruby had a daughter.

And this guy had endangered that daughter, had endangered her family. Yang snarled at the screen, before looking up at Weiss, "How quickly can you get us back to Earth?"

\- X **Elsa **X-

Elsa Rose was a lot more perceptive than a lot of people gave her credit for. For one thing, she was _pretty sure_ her Uncle Johnny was her dad, since apparently you needed a man to have a kid… even if she wasn't sure _why _that was. Still if Mom and Mum didn't talk about it, and Uncle Johnny was fine with her calling him that, she was fine too.

Uncle Johnny wasn't around long enough to be a dad, really. And she didn't get why some people found her having two moms weird.

"I'm doing really good in gym!" Elsa said.

"And what about your other classes?" Uncle Johnny asked.

"Uh… my math and English homework is good?"

"How much help did Ruby and Blake give you with those?"

Elsa puffed out her cheeks, frowning at the ground, "I don't like it. It's boring."

"You should keep learning," Uncle Johnny said, "Your moms are smart, and they got that way by staying in school."

"But it's boring," Elsa said.

"Do ya have any friends?" Uncle Johnny asked.

"A couple… a lot of the kids are scared of me."

"Why'd they be-? Elsa, get inside."

"What?" Elsa turned, watching a pair of woman step through a glowing tunnel, only for Johnny to grab her, pulling her behind him and pushing her towards the house with the glow that sometimes happened in his eyes.

"Get inside, get the others," Johnny ordered, stomping towards the two.

"But-

"NOW!" Johnny snapped, grabbing a chain as he glared at the two, who didn't look particularly mean.

Elsa slipped inside, running down the halls, "Mum!?"

"What is it?" Blake's head popped out of the living room.

"There's a pair of woman at the door!"

"Can you be a bit more descriptive?"

"They've got white and yellow hair, and-"

"Blue and purple eyes?"

"Yeah! Do you know them?"

"Very well," Blake said, standing up, "I'll go say hello. Why don't you come in and play with Shogo?"

"Ok?" Elsa said, walking into the room and letting her mum run by. Shogo squirmed down from Jubilee's lap, waddling over to her.

"E'la!"

"Hi," Elsa said, going over to the couch and climbing up to watch out the window.

\- X **Yang **X-

Yang watched the girl vanish into the house while the man stood up, a chain in his hand. Was that her, her niece?

The man walked towards them, a glowing, dangerous edge in his eyes. One that made Yang want to deploy Ember Celica on the spot.

Who was this guy?

"What are you doing here?" The man said with a dry rasp in his voice, the glow in his eyes getting worse as he glared at… Weiss?

"We're here to visit a friend," Weiss said, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"You know this guy?" Yang asked.

"We're acquainted," Weiss said, lips tight, "The Ghost Rider."

"And one of the Masters of the Mystic Arts," 'Ghost Rider' said.

"You didn't answer my question," Weiss said, "What are you doing here?"

"Checking on some people," he said, swinging the chain like a pendulum. Not overly aggressive, but…

"Yang? Weiss?" The Ghost Rider stopped, looking back at Blake as she walked out of the house, "Is that you?"

"Hey, Bla-" before Yang could respond, Blake rushed across the space, pulling her into a hug. Yang winced at the crushing hug. Jeez, was this what it felt like to others when she hugged them?

"It's good to see you both," Blake said, letting go of Yang to hug Weiss, who awkwardly returned it.

"You know these two?" The Ghost Rider rasped, the grip on his chain getting lighter.

"Yes," Blake broke off the hug, gesturing to him, "Weiss, Yang. This is Johnny, he was a member of Ruby's hunting crew. Johnny this is Weiss, Ruby's partner, and Yang, her-"

"-sister, right?" Johnny said, finally breaking the hold on his chain, "I thought you were dead."

'What gave you that idea?" Yang said, watching him.

"She said you 'weren't around'," Johnny said, audible quotes around the last two words.

"Blake," Weiss said, voice soft, "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"What?"

"None of the calls," Weiss said, "You never told me Ruby and you had adopted a kid…"

Blake muttered something under her breath, too fast and low for Yang to hear other than a "not-" before speaking up, "And if I had told you about Elsa, what would you have done?"

"I would have come back!" Weiss insisted, instantly.

"Exactly!" Blake snapped back, "Weiss… I already made Ruby promise to end her Hunting until Elsa is older. You shouldn't put your life on hold for it."

"And what if we wanted to be part of her life?" Yang said.

"What?"

"What if we wanted to be part of Elsa's life?" Yang repeated, "We're a team, Blake, and she's my niece. What have I missed with her? I could have brought her on vacation, on trips."

Blake didn't answer, looking away, "I hadn't thought of that…"

"Clearly," Weiss said, voice clipped, "Now if you'll excuse us, Blake, we have a niece to go meet."

"Yeah," Blake said, voice shaking, "Come on."

"Calm down," Yang said, pulling her into another hug with her prosthetic, "We've all made dumb decisions over the years. Remember how I got this?"

Blake gave a weak smile, hugging her back, "I guess it's just… Ruby's miserable without being able to hunt, and I didn't want to ruin whatever you were doing."

"That sounds like it's more of a reason for us to be involved," Yang teased, "let Ruby go out while we take care of her."

\- X Ruby X-

Ruby sat against the wall of the quinjet, staring down Loki with a braced M16, two SHIELD agents sitting on either side of him with the same guns and Steve next to her. Tony's voice crackled through the jets sound system, "Hey, Agent Romanoff?"

"What?" Natasha said, the agent sitting in the co-pilot seat.

"I'm picking up some weird energy fluxes, and wanted to see if you were getting the same."

"It's just the storm," Natasha said, checking the dash in front of her, "otherwise, our systems read normal."

"See, that's what I thought at first too," Tony said, "but then I started looking further into it, pulled up some weather maps-"

"Get to the point," Natasha said.

"It looks like the storm is following- son of a bitch!"

Ruby braced herself as the jet shook, keeping the gun trained on Loki, "What was that!?"

"We just took a lightning bolt to the top!" Natasha said, trying to keep the jet stable, "they took out our sensors."

"There shouldn't be any lightning this high up!" The pilot snapped, before snarling, "it fried some systems, we're going to have to lower ourselves and slow down."

"Roger that," Natasha grabbed the communicator, "Stark, we're going low, do you copy?"

Nothing but static.

"Stark?" Natasha repeated.

"They fried our communications," Steve said, dropping the gun and grabbing his shield, locking the straps around his arm, "They want us isolated."

"Who is it?" Ruby asked Loki, who sighed.

"Brother," Loki sighed, the ship quaking.

"Something just landed on us," the pilot said.

Ruby angled the gun up as a dent appearing in the armored hull of the jet. Oh, this was gonna-

Pain tore through Ruby as the air was ripped from the quinjet, the entire cabin decompressing while a metal door slid into place in front of the cockpit, sealing with a hiss. At least they didn't need to worry about Natasha and the pilot passing out.

Ruby pointed the M16 at the man who dropped into the cabin, firing it at him, and sighing when the bullets fell to the ground. Just once, she'd like to fight an enhanced individual who _wasn't _ completely immune to bullets.

Activating her Semblance, Ruby ducked under the swing of the hammer the man was holding, slamming the rifle butt into his face to no response. What was this guy?

Steve lunged forward, driving a shield into the man's spine, before dodging the strike that came his way. The man stomped towards Loki, ripping him from the chair and marching past Ruby with another swing.

The man smashed open the door, casting a baleful look at them, "Do not follow me."

Then he stepped out, letting the velocity rip him away at the same time Tony landed, the Iron Man grabbing at air, "Who was that?"

"Don't know," Ruby said, grabbing Crescent Rose, "but he has Loki. We need to get him back."

"On it," Tony said, turning towards the door, "now I just need to get a lock on him."

Ruby grabbed an ear piece and a parachute, just in case, "Call me when you do."

"Wait!" Cap snapped, "We need a plan attack, we don't even know if he's a friendly or not!"

"Look around you, Boy Scout," Tony said, "He crippled this quinjet and took Loki. Even if he's an enemy of Reindeer, that doesn't make him a friend of us. If he kills Loki, or takes him to somewhere we don't know, the Tesseract is as good as gone."

Tony activated his suit, launching out of the jet. Ruby nodded at Steve before diving out in turn, flipping Crescent Rose and firing it at the ground to slow her fall.

\- X Weiss X-

Weiss watched the Ghost Rider, Johnny, out of the corner of her eye. In the palm of her hand, a luminescent glyph rotated, ready to infuse Myrtenaster at the drop of a hat. He was the exact type of threat the Ancient One warned against, a man sharing his body with something from another dimension.

She closed her eyes, breathing in. Ruby trusted him, he couldn't be all bad, if that was the case. Even if their last meeting had been… well, _rough_, him and the monster hunters had probably been the closest side to a good side before her and Kaecilius intervened.

Opening her eyes, Weiss looked around the room. In it was another man in the midst a half hearted attempt to hide a shotgun, a teenage girl holding a sword, and two children on the couch. Eyes briefly passing over the toddler, she stopped on the other.

With the exception of the long hair pulled into a ponytail, Elsa looked disturbingly like her mother as a child, with black hair that faded to a deep, crimson red at the tips, and silver eyes that, disturbingly, felt like they were staring through Weiss.

"Mum?" Elsa said, standing up, "Who are they?"

"Mum?" Yang hissed in Weiss's ear, to which the Sorceress elbowed her friend.

"These," Blake said, voice weak, "These are…"

Weiss reached out, putting a hand on Blake's shoulder. It wasn't just Blake's fault, Weiss shouldn't have all but dropped off the face of the earth and devoted so much time to studying that… well, she had often lost track of time.

"I'm Weiss Schnee," Weiss said, stepping forward, "I-"

"Mom's friend from school?" Elsa said, eyes immediately lighting up, "The one she blew up with on the first day?"

Weiss's hand smacked into her face while the Ghost Rider gave a loud guffaw. Of all the things, that's what Ruby told her daughter about?

"And I'm your Aunt Yang-"

"The one who punched a mech so hard it exploded!?"

"Yeah," Yang said, "Ruby told us about you?"

"During bedtime," Elsa confirmed, "Did you actually fight on a train that was exploding?"

"You, uh, like explosives, then?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. Mom says she'd take me out when I'm older to try it out," well, if the appearance didn't confirm it, the apparent love of a form of weapons did, Elsa was Ruby's daughter through and through.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Blake muttered, before raising her voice, "They wanted to come see you."

.

"Yeah," Yang said, reaching out to tousle Elsa's hair, "make up for lost time. Maybe take you on a trip to a park like Disney or Universal… those are still around, right?"

"Yeah," Blake said, "maybe we'll do that as a family, once Ruby gets home."

"Ok!" Elsa said, eyes sparkling.

"That does sound fun," the girl with the rapier said, "Would you mind if me and Shogo came along?"

"We'll figure it out when Ruby's here," Blake said.

\- X Ruby X-

Ruby landed on the ground with a heavy thud, hitting the release catch on the unused parachute, unloading Crescent Rose's empty magazine and storing it. Lifting one hand to the earpiece, Ruby pulled out a new mag with her other hand, "Tony, have you found them?"

"Yeah," Tony said, "Drapes is trying to smack me with his hammer. Sending up a blast."

Ruby stood up, eyes trained on the blast of energy while she locked the mag into place, and activated her Semblance. Rushing around the trees, Ruby stored Crescent Rose on her back, heart pounding as she jumped off the cliff that approached in front of her.

Below her, Tony was clashing with the blonde haired man who kidnapped Loki. Lightning crackled off the hammer the man was holding, before launching forward and blasting Tony backwards, his armor crackling with with more energy. The blasters on his hands fired off towards the blond man, who twirled his hammer around on a leather strap, deflecting the blast in an explosion of light.

Ruby crashed in front of the man, rushing past him and hooking Crescent Rose around his chest. Pulling the trigger, Ruby grunted, trying to cut into him.

Instead, she got a warhammer to the side of her head, her Aura flashing around the blow and tilting it to the side. Before Ruby could do anything, the hammer whipped around, smashing into the other side of her head.

As he pulled his hand back for a third strike, Tony's repulsor blasted him in the head, staggering him, "Alright, Drapes, leave the lady alone."

"I'm not a lady," Ruby grumbled, looking back at 'Dra-'

He was wearing a cape! A _cape_! If he could get away with wearing a cape, she could go back to wearing a cloak!

Ruby squealed, dancing in place. She had missed it, so _so _much!

"Uh," Tony said, sounding nonplussed, "What-?"

"Cape!" Ruby said, pointing at the red cape in triumph. It was _red_, even!

"You like my cape?" The man said, lowering his hammer in confusion.

"Yeah!" Ruby said, "it means I can wear cloaks again!"

"Ok, then," Tony said, before snapping his hand up and getting ready to fire a blast from his hand. Before it could, Steve's shield collided with it, knocking the attack off course.

"That's enough," Steve said, catching the shield, "we can talk about this. What do you want…?"

"Thor, Prince of Asgard," the man said, lowering his hammer enough that he would still be ready to fight if it came to that, "Thank you for diverting the blow, but I could have done it on my own. As for my intent, I am here to stop my brother's schemes."

"So we're on the same side then?" Ruby asked, "because that's what we want too. He stole something of ours, the Tesseract."

"The cube is not yours, hu-" Thor stopped, hand reaching for Ruby's chest, "Where did you get that stone?"

Ruby's grip on Crescent Rose grew tight, "None of your business."

"I-"

"I SAID," Ruby snarled, stepping back, "That it's none of your business!"

"Yes," Thor said, stepping back, "Yes, I suppose it isn't, is it? As I was saying, the Cube was property of Asgard before its theft, and I have come to return it."

"We need to find it first," Ruby said, "We were taking Loki back to our base of operations to find out where he put it. Can we bring you along?"

"Very well," Thor said, before growing sheepish, "and I'm sorry about the attack on your craft, I couldn't be sure of your intent."

"Let me try that hammer, and I'll forgive ya," Ruby said, nodding to it.

"Mjolnir?" Thor said, looking down at it before smiling at her, holding it out, "Very well."

Ruby wrapped her hand around the hammer, only for it to suddenly gain, like a million pounds the minute Thor let go of it, dragging her arm down be as it crashed into the ground. Wrapping her offhand around it, Ruby tugged as hard as she could, sweat forming in her brow, "What the heck!?"

"Mjolnir is enchanted," Thor said, holding out his hand so the hammer flew up into it, "So only I can wield it. Consider it a little joke."

"So I can't try it out?" Ruby asked, voice quivering.

"No."

"Where's the fun it that?" Ruby whined.

\- X **AN **X-

Ruby Rose, Supermom, Leader of the West Coast Avengers, Agent. Still a huge weapon nerd when the chance arises. Speaking of the West Coasters, they begin to assemble!

It's hard writing Elsa, because her Cynicism Catalyst (Ulysses's 'the Spartans were little bitches' manner of raising) doesn't exist.

Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh?


	5. Chapter 4

I'm sorry if the quality of this chapter took a hit, I'm dealing with some stuff.

\- X **Bruce **X-

Bruce walked into the quarters with a yawn, stopping to watch Ruby slave away on the weapons on the table, "Going to get some sleep soon?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, clearly not paying attention despite the answer.

"What's- uh- what's wrong?" Bruce stuttered, sitting across from his… what, teammate?

"I shoulda brought a sidearm," Ruby muttered, still to herself, "Wonder if they still have anything John made down in the armory… Sorry, what did you want? I was... distracted."

"Is something wrong?" Bruce said, trying to reach out. Ruby seemed nice enough, and if she was scared of the big guy, she sure didn't show it.

"It's almost eight on the east coast," Ruby said, voice soft.

"Uh… yeah?" Bruce said, "What's that got to do with-?"

"It's almost my daughter's bedtime," Ruby said, "this is normally when I'd call her, but Nick wants us to keep-"

"Emissions low," Bruce finished, "Yeah, he told me. You have a daughter?"

Ruby pulled out her phone, passing it over to Bruce. On it was a picture of Ruby and a young girl who looked disturbingly like her on a track, talking as they jogged.

"Elsa," Ruby said, the affection leaking into her voice, "she wanted to keep up with me."

"I see," Bruce said, handing back the phone. She was lucky she could HAVE a family… "must be hard."

"Impossible, if I wanted to," Ruby said, smiling down at the picture, "My Sem- power is super speed."

"Really?" Bruce said, his curiosity piqued, "How fast are we talking?"

"I… don't know," Ruby said, "Never really tested it. Faster than a car on the highway, way faster."

"But you own a motorcycle?" Bruce said.

"It was a gift," Ruby said, shrugging, "plus, I have a sort of… reserve, I guess? I can only use my super speed so much in a day. No reason to waste it running around doing errands when I could just drive."

"Yeah," Bruce nodded, "Do… uh… do you mind if we ran some tests after this was all done? Just out of curiosity, of course."

"I'd be up for it," Ruby said, running the blade of the trench knife she had along a whetstone a few times, before reaching down to touch a hole in the outfit she was wearing, lifting her hand up to reveal an orangish substance on it, "I should probably go take shower, huh?"

"Please," Bruce whipped around to look at Natasha, who was drying her hair, "I'm surprised you didn't do that when we got back."

Ruby shrugged again, "I like to make sure my stuff is good first. It's more important."

"Then taking care of yourself?" Bruce asked.

"I'll recover on my own," Ruby said, storing the weapons, "my gear won't."

"Whatever," Natasha said, "Don't let it happen again. I'll give you a spare outfit tomorrow."

"You say that like you know there'll be a next time," Bruce said, hiding the information he was going to show Ruby.

"If there's a next time," Natasha deadpanned, "Better?"

"I was fine either way," Ruby said, ducking into the shower with a pair of pajamas.

-X **Yang **X-

Yang sat on the back porch, breathing in the air of Boston for the first time in a decade as above her, a black sky formed. Messing with her cybernetic arm, Yang loaded a plasma cartridge, before unloading it and loading a cryo, before unloading _that _and-

"Aunt Yang?" Yang whipped around, the barrels on her hand springing out before she stopped as she stared at Elsa, hiding the gun behind her back. That would have been a disaster in a half…

It disturbed Yang to see how much Elsa looked like her mother up close, especially during the brief time in their childhood that Ruby had tried to grow her hair out. Unlike her mother, however, Elsa apparently had the patience to get the knots out of her hair.

"Hey-" Yang's words died in her throat, directing her eyes to the side. What did she call her? Kiddo? Brat? "Elsa. What's up?"

"Can you tell me a story?" Elsa asked.

"What do ya mean?" Yang said, the barrels retracting into her knuckles.

"It's almost bedtime," Elsa said, rubbing her eye while she tugged on the shirt of her red and gold pajamas, "Mom normally tells me a story before bed, about your home or something, but Mum and Uncle Johnny say she isn't picking up the phone."

Yang looked back at the Ghost Rider, who was working on his chopper and sharing clipped discussion with the other man as he worked on his bone white car. 'Uncle' was it?

"Alright," Yang said, standing up, "Why don't we go inside?"

"Ok!" Elsa turned, ducking back inside. Yang followed her inside, watching Weiss coo over the baby in there.

"So," Yang said, nodding to the baby, "Is that your brother? Or something?"

Elsa looked over, before shaking her head, "No. Shogo is Jubilee's."

"Jubile-?"

"What?" Yang jumped again, whipping around to stare at the pale girl poking her head out bathroom, her red eyes staring at them.

"What the-?"

"Thought I heard someone say my name?"

"We were talking about Shogo," Elsa said, "He's still playing with Aunt Weiss."

That was it, was it? Elsa was just ready to insert them to her life, even when they only knew each other for a few hours…

"OW!" Yang turned at Weiss's yelp, "No, no- stop tugging on my hai- OW!"

"I should probably get done with this and stop him," Jubilee said, ducking into the bathroom.

"Weiss? You alright?" Yang called.

"Yes!" Weiss said, "I'm fine!"

"C'mon," Elsa whined, tugging Yang's arm.

"Whoa-!" Yang waved a hand, "What story do you want me to tell you?"

"The one about the giant bird?" Elsa said, "That's my favorite one, but Mom and Mum always tell it different when they tell it. I want to hear your version!"

"Ok," Yang said, nodding, "Ok!"

\- X **Jubilee **X-

Jubilee stepped out of the bathroom, adjusting her clothes… and latched her hands around her trench coat, which was thrown straight for her "What the-!?"

"Get ready," Johnny said, holding up a piece of paper, "Ruby was investigating a case before she left, we're-"

"She was what?" Blake's head burst out of the living room, staring down Johnny with narrowed eyes. Johnny just handed her the piece of paper. Blake snatched it, lips so tight they were pale as she read her significant other's scratchy handwriting, "What's a Moksha?"

"Sect of vampires," Johnny said, "they feed slowly, because they get visions when starved."

"Ages," Blake said, voice practically a hiss, "Ten to fifteen?"

"That," Johnny said, hellfire in his voice, "is why we're killing the fuckers. The kids might still be able to be saved, if we move now."

"I'll come to," the white haired woman stepped out of the living room, handing off Shogo to Blake, "this is something we should deal with too."

"Fine," Johnny said, stepping outside, "C'mon."

Jubilee pulled the coat on, grabbing her new sword as she followed Johnny outside the house. The Ghost Rider threw his chain into the air, another tunnel appearing, "Where's Er-?"

"C'mon," Johnny repeated, cutting off Jubilee and striding through the tunnel, Jubilee followed after, and Weiss last. The minute the portal dropped, a gun racked behind them, the gun pressing against her head.

"Put the weapons down," the weak voiced vampire said, "Now."

Jubilee's grip on her sword just grew tighter, before Johnny nodded, not even flinching as the gun was shifted to him, drawing Roar and throwing it to the ground, "Fine. Fine. Both of you, drop the weapons."

"I-" Weiss started, before Johnny nodded again, "Fine."

Jubilee tossed the sword to the ground alongside Weiss, pushing Johnny's chain. The vampire gave a weak laugh, pressing the gun to the back of Jubilee's head, "You really are fools. We can see the future, and you came rushing to the roof of our base?"

"I'd say you're the fool," Johnny said, "for not using your powers a bit more."

"Wha-?" Before the Moksha could finish, a teakwood knife sailed through the air, singing past Jubilee ear and into the throat. There was the ringing of metal on metal as Johnny's chain moved like a snake, wrapping around the vampire while Johnny's skin burned off.

Across the street from them, Eric took a running leap off the building, landing next to them in a roll before springing to his feet. Johnny grabbed a pipe, ripping it from the wall easily before he drove it into the vampire's knee with a loud crack. Jubilee flinched at the wheeze that came out of the vampire's mouth in the place of a scream, "Guys…"

Johnny didn't respond, driving the hellfire strengthened club into the other knee. Before he could go further, a dagger of glowing white light lodged itself in the vampire's head. The vampire jerked, the dagger burning them away entirely.

"We don't torture," Weiss said, staring down Johnny as he stood up. If the skull encased in hellfire remotely scared her, she didn't show it. Instead, the same white energy wrapped around her rapier, another dagger forming between the thumb and index finger of her off hand.

"You and Ruby both, eh?" Johnny said, grabbing his chain and wrapping one end around his arm, before wrapping the other around Roar, "Fine. Then we'll go slightly louder."

Johnny turned, kicking open the door to the building, and stomped down it, Eric stalking after him.

Jubilee looked over at Weiss, before grabbing her sword from the ground, "Sorry about Johnny and Eric, they…"

"I get it," Weiss said, "I don't like what these vampires are doing any more… but torturing them over it just makes us as bad as them."

"Yeah," Jubilee nodded, "I know what you mean."

\- X **Johnny **X-

"You know," Johnny deadpanned as he smashed the pipe into the side of one Moksha's head, throwing a burning Roar into another, "If you weren't all starving yourselves to death, this might actually be interesting."

"Silence," the vampire he had clubbed snarled, trying to punch Johnny. The Ghost Rider let it happen, the fist colliding with his jaw with a thud, "yo- ! GHA!"

The vampire staggered back, gripping her carbonized hand as Johnny gave an exaggerated hiss and wince, "Oooh… that looked like it _hurt_, shoulda used your visions to avoid it."

_You're having fun with this_, the Spirit said.

"And you aren't?" Johnny asked, grabbing the vampire by the head and ignoring the scream of pain before he smashed her head into the wall in a splatter of blood. Pouring Hellfire into the body and throwing it to the ground, Johnny stepped over it, watching Blade lodge one of his teakwood knives into the heart of a vampire.

_Oh, I am,_ the Spirit agreed, voice still calm, _but you are definitely having more fun._

"You sure don't sound like you're having fun," Johnny said as Blade drew the sword off his back, decapitating the vampire.

_It takes more than this to make me emote, Johnathan_, the Spirit said.

"Don't call me that," Johnny said, throwing Roar into another vampire and burning them from the inside before turning to Blade, who had kicked the vampire into kneeling, before taking his head off in one swipe, "Where's Jubilee and White?"

"Clearing out the last room," Blade said, before standing up, "Johnny… can we trust her? Last time we met-"

"It was a four way clusterfuck," Johnny said, flames receding from his body so he could rest a hand on Blade's shoulder. The Daywalker shrugged it off with a glare, "she was gunning for the same thing as us, Eric. She's on our side."

"And if she needs to choose between us and the wizards?" Eric asked.

"She'd pick us," Johnny said, "unless we were doing something Ruby disagreed with too. And that'd be the real problem."

"She's too nice sometimes," Eric sighed, ripping a piece of cloth off one of the vampire's and cleaning the green ichor off the sword, "First time we met, she refused to let me kill an Anchorite."

"That's too _nice_?" Johnny asked, mouth falling open, "I've never met an Anchorite who _wasn't _innocent, Eric."

"They're vampires," Eric shot back.

"Amish vampires," Johnny responded in turn, "who live off animal blood. That's _you _being in the wrong, man."

"I-"

"Johnny!" Jubilee called, voice unnaturally sharp, "Eric! Get over here!"

Johnny met Eric's eyes, flames burning away his flesh as he rushed to meet up with Jubilee, Blade right behind him. Bursting into the room, a growl immediately tore from his nonexistent throat.

Around the room were five emaciated children hooked up to medical equipment, eyes almost blank. Before Johnny could touch the nearest one, the one closest to Elsa in age, Eric's hand wrapped around his bones, "What?"

"We don't want you to accidentally jostle the machines," Eric said, meeting Johnny's eyes without fear, "They're the only things keeping these kids alive, Johnny."

"We need to get them to a hospital," Johnny snarled.

"Then call 911," Eric said, "they won't survive long enough to reach the hospital if we rip them off life support, man. Think."

"You," Johnny turned at the growl from Weiss, watching her approach the last vampire, who had a tube with small amounts of red liquid in his mouth. Above her hand, a massive broadsword formed of the same crystalline light. The Moksha scampered back with wide eyes, raising his arms in a futile attempt to ward off the attack, "**You**!"

Weiss launched the sword forward, running running the vampire through from groin to throat. The vampire exploded in a blast of ash, leaving nothing but the undamaged clothes behind. Johnny reached into them, fishing for a-

There! Johnny pulled a phone out of the pocket, flipping it open and pressing the three buttons he needed as he opened a portal, letting Eric through, "Come on."

"What?" Jubilee asked, "What about the kids?"

"They'll get help when the police get here," Johnny said, holding up the phone and thumb hovering over the call button, before pausing, brain thinking things over as the hellfire rolled back, "actually…"

"What?"

"Let's give the police reason to get here quickly," Johnny said, "Weiss, can you open a portal?"

"Of course," Weiss said.

"Ok," Johnny breathed in, trying to keep the bile from rising up, "Jubilee… what I'm about to do is a dick move, and you have full permission to nail me once good when this is over."

"Oh boy," Jubilee said, taking the phone with a look of worry.

"Make the call," Johnny said, breathing in. The Spirit silently deadened a bit of the dread.

"Hello, 911, what is the-" Johnny reached out, ripped the phone from her hand with a mouthed 'sorry', and slapped her across the face, just hard enough to make an audible noise before he yelled out, voice distorted by the Spirit.

"What did I tell you about calling the cops?" Johnny bellowed, before tossing the phone onto a table and grabbing Jubilee by the arm, dragging her through the portal, he raised his voice, "You just made things worse!"

Johnny let go of Jubilee the minute the portal snapped shut, standing up and offering his chin to her, "Alright."

"You-!" Jubilee kneed him in the crouch, sending a spike of pain through him before she decked him on the face with as much force as possible, "You absolute dick!"

"I deserved that," Johnny said, pushing away the deadening power of the hellfire, "I definitely deserved that."

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby stepped into the armory of the helicarrier with a yawn, adjusting her new combat gear as she did. Looking up, a wide grin split across her face, "Phil, I didn't know you were here!"

"Fin-?" Philip Coulson looked up, a smile spreading across his own face as he spread his arms, "Ruby! How're Elsa and Blake doing?"

"Great," Ruby said, stepping beside him and pulling out her phone to show him the picture of Elsa, "How's Lola doing?"

"Great," Phil said, nodding, "She's doing great! I was actually gonna do some mods to her after this was done, wanna come down and help?"

"Actually help, or stand to the side while you do all the work?" Ruby asked, leaning on the table, "'Don't touch Lola', right?"

"I'll make an exception this once," Phil said, before the smile dropped off his face, his voice lowering, "Hey, listen… I saw something a year ago that- well, it sounded more up _your _alley than mine, and was hoping…"

"I could explain?" Ruby said, "I can try. What was it?"

"I saw…" Phil bit his lip, "This flaming skeleton come out of a portal to… well, it looked like…"

"Hell?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. Do you-?"

"Know about it?" Ruby said, "Oh, yeah. I'm gonna have words with Johnny when this is over with."

"His name is _Johnny_?" Phil asked, chuckling.

"Yeah," Ruby said, "He's a friend of mine, I'll introduce you… oh, and, uh, he isn't always burning like that. Anyways, I was actually down here for a reason. I need a sidearm."

The quartermaster who had been watching them nodded, holding out his hand, "clearance card?"

Ruby opened her wallet, flicking past her license, her credit and debit card, her Beacon ID, before pulling out the SHIELD card, handing it to him while Phil watched with raised eyebrows, "You carry that around with you?"

"Never know when I need to get past a government block," Ruby said while the quartermaster stepped away to swipe the card.

"I'm pretty sure that's against the law," Phil said.

"I helped make this gang," Ruby defended, "I'll use my card if I want to. If Nick had a problem with it, he'd have decommissioned it years ago, really wouldn't have sent me a new one in the mail."

"But why?"

"Let's him track me?" Ruby suggested, "if I use it, someone will call SHIELD."

"And it gets to him," Phil said, nodding.

"Alright, uh," the quartermaster said, holding a gun case, "ma'am. You've got authorization for, uh… _this_."

Ruby's eyebrows jumped up at the gun being displayed to her. It was certainly… fancy, all angular and black and… uh… "and this is… what?"

"The ER-3," the quartermaster said, "Er… that's short for 'Experimental Railgun 3'. The latest attempt by FitzSimmons to recreate the tech used by Sable International-"

"Sorry," Ruby said, raising her hands, "sorry… Fitzsimmons? Sable International? Who are those?"

"Ruby's been on maternity leave for a few years," Phil said, "FitzSimmons are a pair of doctors in SHIELD's R&D department, Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons. Sable International is a PMC out of Symkaria."

"Which is… where…?" Ruby said, "Geography isn't my strong suit, Phil."

"Eastern bloc, former USSR. Near Transylvania."

"Right," Ruby said, pushing the gun aside, "but I don't want that. Do you have anything Browning made? Hi-Power, 1911… heck, I'd take a 1903, if that's all you have."

"But…" The quartermaster said, "but this is the most advanced-"

"I'll take trusted over advanced any day of the week," Ruby said, "like, I'd love to test out the other when we're done, but I want a gun for combat."

"Right," the quartermaster nodded, "I'll go che-"

Before he finished, a loud whine split the air, red lights flashing as the ship quaked. Ruby looked at Phil, "What's that?"

'We have infiltrators," he said. Ruby turned to the quartermaster.

"Just give me something in .45 Auto," Ruby said, "three of them."

"That we can give you," Ruby snagged the guns that was immediately offered so quickly her brain didn't have time to recognize it, alongside eight magazine's, before looking over at Phil.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," Phil said, smiling and offering her an earpiece, "Let's go, Huntress."

"Huntress?" Ruby asked.

"Well, uh… I mean… I heard you didn't have a code name, and-"

"I like it," Ruby said, smiling at Phil, "It fits, and it's better than calling me Bloodstone or something."

"I don't know, that could work too," Phil said.

\- X **Coulson **X-

Phil followed Ruby out of the armory, hitting the button to seal it as they stepped out to stare down the three enemies. Phil flicked off the safety of his gun as Ruby stepped forward, hands raised, "I'm giving you one chance to surre-"

"Stop moving!" The leader said, pointing his Vector at Ruby, the other two pointing the UMPs at her, "or we _will _shoot!"

Ruby didn't stop moving, instead accelerating.

"Fire!" The leader barked, firing at Ruby with his gun, the others joining in. Red flashes rippled across Ruby's skin and clothes as the bullets hit her and dropped to the ground. The second the bullets dropped, Ruby blurred forward, rose petals flying in her wake as she appeared in between the three.

The M&P went off three times, dropping each as Ruby fired into their exposed throats. Once they dropped, Ruby reached down, grabbing the Vector to check it, doing a rapid examination, "They're mercs. Not a PMC, though…"

"You sound sure about that," Phil said.

"It's chambered for .45," Ruby said, "I'm a gun collector, that's not the sort of thing your PMC funds, you could get a MP5 for the same price, then if you run out of ammo, you could get a mag with a team member. I wonder if Nick would let me keep this after…"

"Speaking of which," Phil said, sliding the earpiece in, "Director, can you hear me?"

"Coulson!" Fury barked, "Good to hear from you. I need you to find Ru-"

"She's here," Coulson said, turning to Ruby, "put your earpiece in, the Director wants to talk to you."

Ruby did so, standing up with the gun, "What's up, Nick?"

"There's a group of mercenaries," Nick cut off with a snarl and a bang, before coming back on, "around Roter Three. I think they plan to blow it. You _need_ to stop them. We already lost Roter Four and Rogers and Stark are working to get Roter Two back in working order, if we lose another, there's nothing that's gonna keep this ship from breaking apart when we hit the water at terminal velocity. I have a combat team there, but I think they could use a hero."

"Right," Ruby nodded.

"Coulson," Fury said, "I need you to check Loki. I doubt he can get out of containment on his own, but with mercs crawling the place, I don't want to risk it. Thor's on that way."

"Will do," Phil said, before looking over at Ruby, "See you later?"

"Yep," Ruby nodded, before stopping, "Which way is Roter Three?

Phil pointed behind them, "That way."

"Right," Ruby nodded, "thanks."

Phil watched her vanish, then reached back up talk to Fury, "I'm going to get the Bambino."

"We're not calling it that," Nick said.

"It's a fine name!"

"I don't have time for this right now, Phil," Fury growled, "I'm fighting some mercs. Go get it."

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby landed on the walkway in a roll, drawing the half empty gun from her hip holster as she came up and running towards the group of soldiers trading shots with the mercs. One soldier pointed their gun at her, "Sto-"

"She's on our side," another said, pushing the gun down and nodding at her, "Ma'am."

"Just call me Ruby," Ruby said, sliding next to them as a bullet whizzed over her head, "How many do we have?"

"Twelve," the leader of the team said, "it was originally twenty, but we picked off a few."

"I'll handle the rest," Ruby said, gripping the polymer pistol and beginning to stand up.

"That's insane," the leader shook his head, "there's twelve! You'll be overrun."

Ruby had beaten twelve people when she was fifteen, more than once. She had done it more over the years. And besides that, she had the Bloodstone on her side, "I'll be fine."

_Are you sure about this?_

"Yes," Ruby said, lifting her hand up. The fluorescent orange energy of the Bloodgem poured down her arm, ending at her thumb and middle finger as she stood. Snapping them in a flash of orange, Ruby watched the shell of orange energy launch outward as pain burned through her arm, the bullets hitting the energy and floating, before dropping, plummeting towards the ocean below.

_5_

_4_

With her other hand, Ruby lifted the gun, aiming it at the nearest mercenary, and firing. The other mercenaries dove out of the way when the augmented bullet smashed through the ask he was wearing. Ruby hid the flinch as she watched him crumple, what if he had been brainwashed too?

_3_

_2_

Ruby fired at two more while her offhand began to shake, the burning building up. She could hold this… she **would** hold this!

Shoving the empty gun back into its holster, she drew the gun in the shoulder holster under her offhand and began to line up the next shot.

_1\. I'm recind-_

"Don't," Ruby snarled under her breath, firing the next shot. Under her breath, she whimpered. She couldn hold this, she had to hold this-

_I'm sorry_.

The barrier dropped, the energy retreating back into the Bloodgem, leaving Ruby to drop back into cover, staring at her hand. Six seconds of using that power.

A new record.

Ruby popped up, firing at another target when a quinjet flew by them, two more chasing after it. Nick's voice crackled, "Have you dealt with them?"

"A few, why?"

"Loki escaped," Nick said, voice shaken, "I'm sending Natasha and Clint your way."

\- X **AN **X-

Thoughts and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh? Probably Meh or bad, right?


	6. Chapter 5

Clint Barton rushed down the halls of the Helicarrier with Natasha, hitting the button on his wrist to lock a flashbang arrow in place and drawing it as they approached a room with several mercenaries. He couldn't believe he had been brainwashed so easily. What would Laura have thou-?

Shit.

He needed to call her as soon as possible. Even if Fury had kept her in the dark, him not calling probably worried her sick.

Drawing back the bowstring, Clint clenched his eyes shut, Nat plugging her ears as he fired the arrow into the ceiling, a loud roar sending a ringing through his ears. Nocking another arrow with speed that would leave an Olympic medalist in shock, Clint fired the broad headed arrow through the kevlar.

It was one reason why he used a bow. Kevlar could stop small arms, but it wasn't good against bladed things. Knives, swords, arrows could all punch right through it.

Ruby had once put it during his training that modern equipment was made to deal with modern problems. Add something old, and sometimes it didn't hold up.

Of course, that had been her justification for why she used a _anti-mat scythe _as her weapon of choice, so he was pretty sure she was just making some vaguely philosophical bullshit up.

Clint nocked another arrow, firing it into the throat of a charging merc. Nat drove her shoulder into the other, knocking them to the ground before she shot him in the throat. Rushing forward, Clint nocked a third arrow as they stepped outside, the Helicarrier getting closer to the ocean by the second.

Which meant any agents still on the side of the helicarrier were going to be submerged. Clint shot one of the remaining mercenaries he had hired, speaking into his ear piece, "Director, get everyone inside!"

"What do you mean-?"

"Me, Nat and Ruby can take out the others," Clint said, pointing the wristbow at one, punching through their throat, doing math, "but we're gonna hit the water in… five minutes. They'll drown."

"And what about you, Agent Barton?" Fury said, "I have three members of the Avengers Initiative out there, losing you is not-"

"We'll be fine, Nick," Clint's response was cut off by Ruby, who was cradling her right hand to her body, smoke rising off it while she held a pistol in her left hand, "Seven against us? That's easy."

"I don't like confidence like that," Fury said, "it always backfires."

"It won't, sir," Natasha said, drawing both of her guns.

"Fine," Fury said, "Hurry up and finish them. The rest of you, fall back!"

Clint dropped his hand, drawing another arrow, "Hey."

"Nice to see you," Ruby said, pushing herself up to shoot at one, "How's the baby?"

"Lila isn't a baby anymore," Clint said.

"I thought Laura was expecting a boy?" Ruby asked.

"Cooper?" Clint said, firing the arrow, "He's _definitely _not a baby anymore. Heard you had a kid. How'd that happen?"

"You know," Ruby waved her smoking hand, firing with the other and dropping her target, "got-"

"Can you two talk about this when we're not fighting a group of mercenaries?" Natasha said, firing at two more.

"Not like there are many more," Clint said, shooting another.

"All the more reason not to do it right now," Nat said.

"Eh," Ruby shrugged, before shooting the last two, "I can multitask, but whatever."

\- X **Yang **X-

Yang walked outside the house, offering a beer to Johnny. The scruffy biker looked up, before taking it and scooching over enough for Yang to sit next to him. Pulling out his keys, he used the bottle opener on his, before doing the same to hers, "Thanks. Z might not let me get drunk right now, but…"

"Z?" Yang asked.

"The guy riding shotgun in here," Johnny said, tapping a finger to the side of his head.

"That how you got the flaming head trick Weiss mentioned?"

Johnny looked into the house, before bending his head down. His head shook wildly, before the skin and hair on it burned away, flames floating off his skull, "a trick, huh?"

Yang met the glowing pricks of fire in his eye sockets, her own eyes turning red as she activated her Semblance. The supercharge of adrenaline causing a smile to split across her face, "Yeah. You ever think of using it to make Bailey's Comets?"

"You really are Ruby's sister," Johnny laughed, the flames going out and his skin and hair regrowing, "Most people are at least a little freaked out the first time they see it!"

"Nah," Yang said, grinning back at him, "I was in space the last few years. Once you've met Kree, Skrull and Sakaarans, you don't scare easily."

"Yeah, well…" Johnny stopped, eyes becoming unfocused, "Oh, damnit."

"What?" Yang said as Johnny stood up and downed the bottle before he threw open the back door, "What?"

"Eric, Jubilee!" Johnny snapped, "Weapons check! Get ready, they're coming, _fast_!"

"They're coming?" Yang asked, "Whose coming?"

"The aliens," Johnny said, teeth clenched while he planted his hand on the wall, arm shaking, "We're gonna go, Z, you don't need to do it like this!"

"We're all going," Blake said, stepping down the stairs with Gambol Shroud on her back, her ears exposed as she took Johnny by the arm, helping him up, "I called a babysitter for Elsa and Shogo."

"Why?" Johnny asked, flames burning in his mouth.

"Because something tells me that Ruby's not coming back to retirement," Blake said, not flinching at the flames burning on Johnny, "and I'm going to keep her safe."

"Team RWBY, fighting together again?" Yang said with a wide grin, "Great!"

"I agree," Weiss said, stepping down the stairs, "it has been too lo-"

"This is sweet and all," Eric said, throwing the shotgun to Johnny, "but we have a weapons check to do."

\- X **Blake **X-

Blake followed Johnny into Ruby's workshop, entering it for the first time in a year, and preparing to do her first weapons check in even longer. This was it, this was how their retirement ended.

But if the Spirit and SHIELD was right, weren't there enough people in danger for it to be worth it? The world was changing, becoming more like Remnant every day. Men in flying armor, super soldiers, stealth operatives who used bows and arrows…

Blake breathed in, shifting Gambol Shroud into a pistol and pulling back the slide, flicking the slide catch as she did. Grabbing a glock magazine, the Faunus slid it into place, before finishing racking the slide, the catch releasing and the first round chambering, "How long?"

"Four seconds," Yang said, checking a hologram on her arm.

"I'm rusty," Blake said, more to herself than to the gathered crew.

"Four seconds is rusty?" Jubilee asked, walking around the room and examining the guns, "and do you think Ruby would mind if I brought one along? I'm not a gun freak like her, Johnny or Eric… but if things go wrong…"

"It is for me," Blake said, "and go ahead. Take one of the revolvers, they're better for beginners. The K-Frame, Python or R8."

"What part of 'not a gun freak' flew over your head there, Blakey?" Jubilee asked.

"Here," Johnny said, grabbing the Python and holding it out to Jubilee, who grabbed it from him with a dirty look. What had happened between them?

"Thanks," Jubilee said, begrudgingly.

"Be careful with it," Johnny cautioned, "Don't do the reload you'd see in movies or video games, because that will just damage it, and those are getting rarer."

"Right," Jubilee nodded.

How long had it been since Ruby had given Clint the same lesson? Since Blake went through those same lessons with Adam?

"You alright?" Yang asked her, planting her flesh and blood hand on Blake's shoulder and tightening it.

"Just thinking," Blake said, becoming aware of the vice grip she had on Gambol Shroud, the gun pressed against the table, "What do we do if this blows up? We've always laid a bit low."

"More out of necessity than anything," Weiss said, spinning Myrtenaster around her hand as she paced, the one member of the team not needing any preparation, "With me and Yang back in full combat, we can afford to step out of the shadows."

But the shadows were where Blake was most comfortable, where she preferred to be. She didn't want to-

"You know," Yang said, "You don't have to come. We'll be fine without you."

"But I want to make sure you're all fine," Blake said, "I don't want to sit around home while I know you're fighting."

"Then we'll think of something," Yang said, hugging her, "we always do."

"Thanks," Blake said, smiling at Yang.

"Now," Yang said, letting go of Blake, "I need to do some stretches before I go save my sister's butt. Wanna do that too?"

"Save Ruby, or stretch?"

"Whatever gets your mind off things," Yang said.

"That… doesn't make much sense," Blake said, shaking her head.

"I agree," Weiss said, "but that's why we love you."

Yang stuck her tongue out at them, before turning, "Yo, Jubles! Want to get some stretches in before we go?"

"Did you just call me _Jubles_?" Jubilee asked, turning towards them, "That's worse than my birth name!"

"Which is?"

"Jubilation Lee," Eric said, loading his gun… and his secondaries… and some spares.

"...Wow, that name is pretty bad," Yang said.

"Why do you think I have people call me Jubilee?" she asked, "and sure, I'll come along."

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby sat in the quarters, head bowed as her mind hung in freefall. Finally, her cracked voice came out, "So, Loki escaped-"

"-Yep," Tony said, pacing around the room in damaged suit of armor.

"-Bruce and Thor are missing-" Ruby continued, hands shaking.

"Yeah," Clint said.

"-We're in a crippled helicarrier-"

"Why are you doing this?" Steve said, "We know what's going on."

"Trying to wrap my head around it," Ruby said.

"Well, get around it," Ruby's head jerked up, meeting Fury's eye as he and Maria stepped into the room, arms behind his back while Maria held a briefcase, "because your job isn't over."

"Isn't over?" Ruby snapped, standing up and running her hand through her hair, "isn't over? How isn't it over, Nick? We don't have Loki, we don't have Bruce, we don't have the Tesseract, and we don't have a way to get to him! We-"

"Have a tracker on the quinjet he used to escape," Fury said, "So we might not have Loki, but we know where he is heading, New York. We still have Banner's equipment, calibrated to find the Tesseract, so we know Loki has it with him, and we still have a working quinjet. We can still turn this around…"

"And why should we?" Tony said, stopping his pacing, "give me one reason-"

"Because it's what Phil Coulson wanted," Fury said, cutting them off. Ruby's gut plummeted, mind entering freefall. No, no, no…

"_Wanted_?" Ruby said, voice weak, "You mean _wants_, right?"

"No," Nick said, "I meant wanted. Loki killed him during the escape. Ran him through the heart."

"Fuck," Tony said, softly, while Ruby buried her face in her hands, a black arrow in cream skin flashing through her mind. The heart again, why was it always the _fucking_ heart?

"Ruby," Clint said, carefully touching her shoulder, "don't-"

"Let," Ruby said, voice shaking, "go."

"Ruby-"

"Let go, Clint."

"Agent Barton," Fury said, "step back."

For a second, it seemed like Clint would refuse, before he briefly tightened his grip on Ruby's shoulder and stepped back. Ruby's eyes flashed orange as she gave an inarticulate scream, slamming her hand on the table as energy from the Bloodstone flashed down her arm, the table smashing under the force of the blow. Steve immediately dove between the fragments and Natasha, letting them hit into him without a flinch.

"I'm sorry," Fury said, sitting next to Ruby, "I really am. Agent Coulson… Phil.. he was a good man, a good friend… my good eye. If I had known Loki was going to get out that easily, I wouldn't have sent him there."

"I should have gone with him," Ruby said, blinking back tears, "He was the only one who believed me…"

"That's not true," Nick said, voice soft for the first time in years, "I believed you, but after the infiltration, I didn't have men to spare. I wouldn't have trusted you to do it yourself otherwise, Agent Rose."

"Believed her about what?" Tony asked.

"Potential infiltrators," Nick said, voice brisk again, "which she has done a noble job of keeping out of SHIELD. Anyways, before you head out to New York, I have something for you. Phil has be- was working on a new combat uniform for you. We don't have it finished because we weren't sure you would join the Avengers Initiative… but we did get one part done. The part he thought you would like more than anything else."

Nick nodded to Maria, who stepped forward and put the briefcase on the table. Ruby reached out, flicking it open… and squeezing her eyes shut to hide the tears.

It was a cloak. A crimson red cloak…

Oh, Phil…

"He knew you loved them," Nick said, pressing the cloak into Ruby's hands, "and figured that when your teammates were wearing red and gold armor or red, white, and blue, there was no reason you couldn't have it. I agree."

Ruby unfold it, ignoring the pair of guns that fell to the ground, and stared at the silver embroidery in the shape of her emblem connected by vines along the bottom. Pulling it on, Ruby carefully latched it in place with the pin shaped that was also like her emblem. Phil had really gone the extra mile with this.

Picking up the guns, Ruby frowned at the pair of ER-3s, "I didn't-"

"Phil wanted you to have them," Nick said, "Keep them as last resort weapons, if nothing else."

"Fine," Ruby holstered them, before grabbing Crescent Rose and standing up, "Let's go, guys."

"Yeah," Steve nodded, grabbing his shield.

"I'll meet you there," Tony said, "I need to stop by the tower to upgrade."

\- X **Eric **X-

"Hey," Eric said, walking towards Blake with his hands in his pockets. She was reloading and unloading her gun-sword... thing (he should ask Ruby to make him something like that) repeatedly. She stopped, looking up at him.

"Hi," she said, before returning to the loading her gun, "Mind timing me?"

"Yes," Eric said, catching the mag, "I do. I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" Blake asked.

"You're life after this," Eric said.

"Because I'm worried about being able to live a normal life?" Blake said.

"I guess it's technically about that," Eric said with a shrug.

"Well then," Blake said, putting the sword down, "Get to it. Are you gonna tell me I'm stressing about noth-"

"I was going to tell you that you were saner than most hunters I know," Eric said, taking the wind out of Blake's sails as quickly as possible, "including your wife."

"...What?"

"Our life style isn't sustainable, Blake," Eric said, sitting next to her, "that's just a fact. You know why me, Ruby and Johnny are such good hunters? It's because we can shrug off a lot the abuse thrown at us. But most hunters… they act like us, but can't take the punishment. They end up dead or worse, crippled, and that's when things get really bad."

"Crippled is worse than dead?" Blake said, "it sounds like you don't ha-"

"It is when you have few to no marketable skills. You can't go into the military, or the police, or any other job where a warrior might be wanted-"

"I'd be worried about a warrior in the police."

"And some hunters only fight one type of monster," Eric said, "like me with vampires. What happens if we win the fight, get rid of all the walkers?"

"Not all vampires-"

"You suddenly have a lot of hunters with nothing to hunt," Eric said, cutting her off, "and some of them will move onto hunting other monsters, but others will have nothing."

"And what about you?" Blake asked.

"I'll join a jazz band," Eric said, "done it before."

"You like jazz?" Blake asked.

"I grew up in the 1920s, age of jazz and swing," Eric said, cracking a smile, "I tried to get into more modern styles, but it never really worked. Can't stand rap, for example."

"So, what, I just need to fight until there's nothing lift?" Blake said, frowning, "that doesn't sound enjoyable."

"You just need to fight until you decide you don't want to fight more," Eric said, "either for a vacation, or permanently. Then you go do whatever you want."

"But Ruby…"

"Isn't normal," Eric said, "I take vacations. Johnny takes vacations. Ruby is weird because she doesn't like taking vacations, probably because of whatever baggage she has. But if we work as a team, she might be more willing because she knows _someone _is dealing with it. Ok?"

"Ok," Blake nodded.

"Now," Eric opened his hand, offering her the magazine, "I'll time you a couple of gos."

\- X **Steve **X-

Steve watched Ruby as they roared through the sky in the quinjet, the noise of her whetstone going at her scythe blade muted by the roar of the jets. T-minus five minutes till battle.

There was a strange level of calm in this part, always had been. Back with the Howling Commandos, this would be when Dum Dum jokingly complained about not being drunk enough.

Tony's voice can across their earpieces, "_Hey, guys, I have bad news."_

"Let me guess," Natasha said, "Loki's at Stark Tower?"

"_Yeah_," Tony said, "_him, a couple of mercenaries and an older guy."_

"Don't do anything too risky, Tony," Steve said.

"_I've got to, Cap_," Tony said, "_the Mark 6 isn't gonna survive another fight_."

"'That death does wait, There's no debate'," Ruby said, seemingly more to herself than anyone. A quote that startled Steve because he actually recognized it from one of the books of poetry he had been given after waking up.

"You read poetry?" Steve asked her.

"My wife's a writer," Ruby said, "She read _To Hell and Back_ a couple of times."

"To Hell and Back?"

"Audie Murphy's autobiography."

"Is this really the time?" Natasha snapped.

"Of course it is," Barton said.

"What?" Natasha said, "what do you-"

"She's distracting you so Stark can land," Barton said.

Steve's eyes widened under his cowl, hand snapping up, "Tony!? _Tony_!?"

Nothing, other than Ruby's phone going off. She pulled it out, hitting a button on it while ignoring the look Steve gave her, "Sorry."

"What were you thinking?" Steve asked.

"I made a tactical decision," Ruby said, "if Tony says his armor won't survive another fight, I believe him."

"So you're letting him get killed?" Steve demanded.

"He needs a chance to get the suit," Ruby said, "or he'll die during the fight, Steve. He's not a trained soldier, he needs a fully function- sorry," Ruby hit the button to hang up again, before looking back at Steve, "Trust-"

"_Uh_," Tony's voice suddenly came across their earpieces, "_guys? You need to get here, quick_."

"Why?" Steve asked, "What's going on?"

"_Suited up_," Tony said, _"but Loki and his goons activated a machine, there's a portal above Manhattan and there are aliens coming out of it!"_

"We're-" Ruby cut herself off with an exasperated sigh, bringing her phone up to her ear, "_What, Johnny_!? I'm a little bus-"

_"Dealing with an alien invasion_?" The voice said, being unintentionally picked up by the earpiece, "_Yeah, we know. Give us a location, we're coming in."_

"What do you-?" Ruby started, before cutting herself off, "Stark Tower."

_"Roger that_," the voice said, "_See you there_."

"Yeah," Ruby said, before hanging up, "bring us low near Stark Tower, Natasha."

"Are you actually planning to jump out _again_?" Natasha asked

"Yep," Ruby said, opening a panel to grab some earpieces, "I'll coordinate things between my team and you guys. Tony, do you see a flaming skeleton?"

What?

"_You know, that should confuse me a lot more than it does_," Tony said, "_but... yeah, I see him. Hard not to…"_

"How many people are with him?"

"_Five others_," Tony said.

Ruby paused, before grabbing six earpieces and hitting the button to open the back of the ship, nodding with a grin, "See you on the other side?"

"I guess," Steve said, watching Ruby tip backwards out of the ship as a gout of fire smashed into an alien chariot.

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby landed with a thud, rolling up onto her feet as she looked around the gathered team Johnny had gathered, and her brain froze. Johnny, Eric and Jubilee, she had expected, but Weiss? Blake? _Yang_!?

Ruby staggered as Blake crashed into her, hugging her as tightly as possible, "What-?"

"Do you know how worried I was when I saw you fighting Loki?" Blake asked, planting her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"Oh…" Ruby said, squirming in Blake's arms, "Er… you saw that?"

"We all saw it," Weiss said, putting her hand on Blake's shoulder, "Elsa's cute, by the way."

"You met her?" Ruby asked, a smile blooming on her face.

"Yes," Weiss said, "it's also why I got Yang."

"That can be talked about later," Johnny said, firing at another Chitauri chariot, "What are we doing?"

Ruby nodded, biting her cheek, "Ok… Jubilee, some reports said Drac was in the area-"

"Were you even _trying_ to keep to the retirement?" Blake asked in exasperation.

"-can you find him?" Ruby said, wincing. She was so, _so _gonna be stuck on the couch.

"Yeah," Jubilee nodded.

"Go talk to him," Ruby said, tossing her an earpiece.

"You want us to work with the vampires?" Eric said.

"They'll work with us," Ruby insisted, "they don't like other people messing with their prey."

"That wasn't the question," Eric said.

"Eric, you and Yang take out any ground troops you can find," Ruby said, tossing them their earpieces.

"Sounds good," Yang said, before planting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "it's good to see ya, sis."

"Just wish it was under better circumstances," Ruby said.

"We got a long time," Yang said, before backtracking to the edge of the building they were on and tipping back, Eric jumping after her..

"Johnny," Ruby said, tossing Howl to him, "Drive around, fry anything causing too much damage, carve anything else up."

"So follow Z's directions," Johnny said, climbing on his bike and gunning it, driving straight down the building.

"Weiss," Ruby said, "do you have anything that can cause a lot of destruction?"

Weiss gave a small smile, a black glyph appearing in her hand and a pure black liquid floating out of it, moving in the air, "this look familiar?"

"Zero Matter?" Ruby said, "is that safe?"

"I have control over it," Weiss said, "and a few more tricks."

"Use them to take out some of the bigger ones," Ruby said, handing Weiss her earpiece.

"Will do," Weiss slid on a two fingered ring, and opening a portal, before stopping, "And Ruby? It is good to see you again."

"What do I do?" Blake said, sounding resigned.

"I'm planning to snipe for a bit," Ruby said, "I need you to act as my spotter."

\- X **AN **X-

For those who don't watch the shows, Zero Mater AKA Darkforce, is essentially what happens when you have a liquid black hole. It's the counterpart to the Lightforce Weiss was using last chapter.

Thoughts and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh


	7. Chapter 6

Jubilee stopped her sprint across the rooftops of Manhattan, staring at the six aliens aiming their gun… staff… thingamajigs at a family of four. Let's see, she had a sword she barely knew how to use, a gun she knew even less about, it was day so wolfing was right out…

Looks like she only had one option, then.

Reaching her hands up, Jubilee bit into her gloves and pulled her hands out of them, shoving them into her pockets. Her fingernails popped up, being pushed aside by the black claws.

Bolting forward, Jubilee's claws slashed through one alien's neck, decapitating him. Purple blood splattered on her fingers while she kicked the dead alien into one of his friends, sending them both flying off the building.

"Hi!" She said, baring her teeth at them in something between a grin and a snarl, lifting her hand up to lick the purple blood. And spat it out. Erg… that stuff was nearly as bad as Ruby's blood, "You guys are gross."

The nearest alien growled, swinging the staff at her head. Jubilee ducked under the attack, driving her claws into.. his? Her? Its? Its gut, punching through the metal and lifted it up into their air.

Only to lock up as the last three aliens focused on the family, pointing their guns at them. Oh, cr-

Before they could open fire, a red, white and blue shield flew from behind them, bouncing between their heads and knocking them away before bouncing back the way it came. Turning, Jubilee met the eyes of Captain America.

"I got them, Barton," he said into his earpiece, before walking up Jubilee, "Part of Ruby's team?"

"Uh," Jubilee said, before retracting her claws, wincing as the alien fell backwards to crash crash into the edge of the building back first, and holding put a hand, "Yeah. Jubilee, sir."

"Steve Rogers," Captain America said, shaking her hand, "This your first fight?"

"No," Jubilee said, wide eyed.

"First fight with cits around?"

Cits? "Uh…?"

"Civilians?" Captain America tried again.

"Kinda?" Most of the time, they were unconscious… and vampires didn't want them _dead_, since you couldn't drain someone.

"Well," Cap said, "a bit of advice, take your enemies out quickly, because they might-"

"_Cap, Jubilee_," Ruby's voice came across their earpieces, "_look alive, there's two chariots coming your way from the north_."

Jubilee turned with the Captain, watching the chariots flying towards them. Before she could say anything, Cap did it for her, "That's thr-"

In the direction Jubilee had been coming from, an orange flash launched from a building, punching into the leftmost chariot and exploding, taking the aliens on it with it.

The right chariot swooped backwards, turning around and following the trail towards Ruby, "Uh…"

"_Me and Blake'll hand- sorry, Blake and __**I **__will handle that one_," Ruby said with a sigh, before carrying on, _"is now really the time to correct my grammar? Anyways, Jubilee, how's getting Vlad-y boy going_?

"Still heading that way," Jubilee said, "I'll go when that one is dealt wit-"

"Don't worry about it," Cap said, "We have different goals, I'll handle th-"

Before he could finish, an arrow flew into the chariot, exploding. Jubilee flinched, the instinctual fear of fire coming to the forefront of her mind. Cap stepped in front of her, angling his shield to deflect the burning metal away from them and grabbed his earpiece, "Barton! Bit of warning next time you give some close support would be nice."

"_Sorry_," Barton said, sounding a little sheepish. Were the earpieces connecting to each other?

"Right," Cap said, nodding to Jubilee, "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Jubilee said, watching him jump back to the street below, crashing down on top of an alien before clobbering a second. Man, he was so cool… now to find-

"Lady Jubilation?" Jubilee turned, watching the man step out of the rooftop doorway. A huge guy with short blond hair, built like a brick wall, "You're her, right?"

"What if I am?" Jubilee asked, walking close enough to see the dull look in his eyes. Poor guy was-

"You're noble father sent me to you," he said, "He wants to speak with you."

Jubilee grabbed the guy's mirrored sunglasses, slipping them on. No way she was risking this otherwise, "Alright then."

\- X Vlad X-

Vlad fingered the hilt of his sword, drinking from the chalice in his other hand. In front of him, John and Colvin were arguing, edged on by Alyssa.

"Why did we send for her?" John snarled, claws bared, "She works with our enemies."

"_Your_ enemy," Colvin said, signing paperwork for his companies as he did, "the Mystikos have little… what's the term the living use now? Beef?"

"Yes," Alyssa purred, the leader of the Sirens brushing her hand against Vlad's shoulder. The Lord of the Night batted it away with a loud crack, "Beef… you do have to wonder how many of them think with their stomachs."

"Little beef with Ruby Rose," Colvin said, ignoring Alyssa, and not flinching as John lunged forward, slamming his claws into the desk, "now really, there's no need to damage the mahogany like that."

"She doesn't just work with Rose," John growled, "She works with the Daywalker!"

With those words, the entire room feel deathly silent. Alyssa stopped her pacing, Colvin's pen snapped, even Legate, leader of the Krieger and Cerez, leader of the Claw stopped the staring match they had been engaged in to touch their swords. Vlad smirked, fear, they were all terrified.

Good, now it was time to twist it to him.

"I was quite aware of that, John," Vlad drawled, returning his hand around his sword, "Unless you're implying that I'm so negligent that I missed where someone I personally turned was?"

"N-no," John's eyes grew downcast, "no, of course not, my lord."

"Of course I know she has taken the side of the riders," Vlad continued, not standing from his throne even as John continued to cower, "how could I not, when I saw her be taken during the Battle for the Book?"

"Then why let her come here?" John asked, head still bowed.

"For the same reason I allowed Xarus to speak to me before the Sorcerer Supreme took his life," Vlad said, feeling the buzzing in his head, "for the same reason I let you come crawling back after you worked with that cult. As Lord of the Night, I must entertain a guest if they are worthy to speak to me. Now fall silent, your sister had arrived. Come in, Jubilation."

"Don't call me that," Jubilation said, stepping into the room.

"It is the name your parents bestowed on you," Vlad said.

"Yeah," Jubilation said, her tone conveying the eyeroll her mirrored sunglasses covered up, "and it's a sucky name. Why's Baron Blood over there cowering like a baby?"

A spattering of laughter came from the gathered clan leaders, and even Vlad cracked a smile while John glowered at the back of her head, "His name is John Falsworth, Jubilation."

"Whatever," Jubilation said, walking forward to toe the creature Vlad's blade was sheathed in, "So, you know the aliens are around?"

"So they are aliens?" Vlad said, a smile splitting across his face. He had been interested in space, and how humanity would spread out over it… before they gave up, "Nevermind. What are you here for?"

"Ruby wanted me to find you," Jubilation said, "She wants your help dealing with the aliens, because they're planning to take over-"

"Does she think we're insane?" John snarled, only to fall silent at the look Vlad gave him.

"We'll hold down this part of the city," Vlad said, drawing his sword, "I cannot promise any more or any less, with the sun out. If this fight lasts to night, I will consider extending beyond that. That is the only promise I can give you, but it is a promise I shall give as Vlad Tepes, Dracula, Kaziklu Bey and Lord of the Night."

"...Great," Jubilation deadpanned, "fine, whatever."

\- X **Blake **X-

Blake ran one Chitauri through from behind as it landed behind Ruby, before glancing around and tapping Ruby on the shoulder, "Left, thirty yards out."

"Giving me a hard one?" Ruby joked lightly, before turning in place and bracing Crescent Rose, shooting down the chariot.

"_You want a hard one?_" a voice came through Ruby and Blake's earpiece, sending her jumping and gripping Gambol Shroud, "_Here's one, got four after me, coming up on your right_."

"Thanks, Tony," Ruby said, shifting locations and tossing a gun to Blake. A black, strange one, "Here, a backup. From… from Phil…"

The last words died on Ruby's lips, eyes closing. Oh, no…

"Phil's gone?" Blake asked quietly. She didn't really know the agent, but she knew the stricken look on Ruby's face.

"Yeah," Ruby said.

"_Ruby_?" Tony said, "_I get it, we're all hurting about Coulson, but we need you to focus_."

"Right," Ruby nodded, hitting the button to cause Crescent Rose's scope to come up and staring down it, "Ready when you are."

"_Should be there in 3. 2. 1,"_ the red suit ripped by them, sending Ruby's cloak fluttering in the breeze, "_Go, go, go_!"

Ruby pulled the trigger, the first chariot exploding as the HEAP round ripped through it. The next chariot followed, before Crescent Rose stopped firing, "Uh…"

"I've got this," Blake said, lunging off the building to land on the next chariot with Gambol Shroud ready, driving it into the side of the chitauri holding a spear-gun. Yanking it out as she span, Blake had just enough time to watch the turret blast into the spot where Ruby was reloading Crescent Rose, sending ice into her gut.

Until Ruby's voice came across a second later, her landing on the ground in a burst of petals, "_I'm ok!"_

"Good," Blake said, slashing Gambol Shroud through the Chitauri manning the turret's throat. Shifting Gambol Shroud, she fired into the last one's skull from behind before tossing the kusarigama into a building, swinging off the chariot and next to Ruby, "I swear, you go out of your way to give me grey hair."

"Sorry," Ruby said, smiling at Blake, "Really, I'm-"

_"Can you two not when we're in the middle of a battle_?" Blade snarled, his accent slipping through, "_take that, you bloody-_"

"Right," Jubilee said, "_bad news. They're gonna 'hold down this part of the city', which I'm pretty sure means 'the building we're in'. So a fat lot of useless_."

"_Could have told you that one_," Blade said, "_The Krieger or Claw might do it, but the Sirens? The Mykonos? That's not their way. They manipulate, only fight if they have to."_

"Krieger and Claw are warrior sects," Ruby explained, voice low enough that Blake had to use her cat ears to pick it up, "Sirens seduce and Mykonos are business people. Still, better to check than to not, Weiss, how are things?"

Nothing.

"Weiss?"

Blake felt her stomach plunge, meeting Ruby's eyes, "You don't need me for a few, right?"

"Right," Ruby said, touching her earpiece, "Nat, do the earpieces have a tracker?"

"_Of course they do_," the other voice said, "_One second, I'll drop off a device to use it_."

"That better be in the suit they're making," Ruby said catching it as a redhead flew by on a chariot, using the Chitauri pilot as makeshift controls. Ruby held it out to Blake, who grabbed it.

"How much you wanna bet Elsa's gonna be super excited to know her moms worked with Iron Man?" Ruby asked, touched the Bloodstone.

"Anything?" Blake asked.

"No," Ruby shook her head, "I'll tell you if that changes."

"Good," Blake said, resisting the urge to kiss Ruby before she departed. Not the time for this.

"_What should I be doing_?" Jubilee asked.

"Meet up with Eric, Yang, or the Avengers," Ruby ordered, turning away from Blake, "if you meet Cap or Clint, listen to them. Otherwise, kill any Chitauri you find."

"_Sorry_," Jubilee said, "_They're called Chitau-_?"

"_Not. Now_," Blade growled.

"_Right, right, I'm on my way_."

"_See you in a bit then_," Yang said.

"You've been awfully quiet," Blake said, rushing to the edge of the building and closing her eyes.

_"Turned off the mic, figured you didn't want to hear me whooping_."

"Probably," Blake agreed, leaping off the building and plummeting enjoying the brief sense of weightlessness before Gambol Shroud impaled the building, letting her swing down like a pendulum.

Hold on, Weiss…

\- X Weiss X-

Weiss threw the mass of zero matter into one of the flyers, before turning and impaled a Chitauri, rotating the chamber of Myrtenaster as she went. Stopping with a click, Weiss let the zero matter glyph fade in turn for a glyph of pure eldritch energy. The red-orange flames that represented the concentrated form of the energy that bound the universe burned along Myrtenaster as she drew it from the Chitauri. Behind her, the air warped, pulling her towards it.

Oh, no… nononono…

Weiss turned, watched the Chitauri being ripped into the, mass of zero matter turning into more as they hit it. She had forgotten to return it before dispelling the glyph!

Dropping Myrtenaster, Weiss created a pair of glyphs at her feet to anchor herself, before forming another pair of Darkforce glyphs in her hands. Sweat began to form as she struggled to take control of the mass, it wasn't too late, it couldn't be-

Before she could finish, a mandala of white light sailed over her head, hitting the mass of black energy and absorbing it, before turning and returning to where it had come. Turning, Weiss watched the Ancient One catch the mandala in the shape of a fan, before snapping it shut.

"Master?" Weiss asked in confusion, watching the Sorcerer Supreme blow a chariot out of the sky with a gesture, "What are you doing here?"

"What are any of us doing here today, Weiss?" The Ancient One asked, "I'm defending the world, same as yo-"

She sighed as four Chitauri landed around her to her, "One moment."

If Weiss was anyone who _didn't_ have a speedster for a best friend, she might have missed what followed. A pair of fans opened in the Ancient One's hands, and in a set of flowing attacks, she annihilated the Chitauri.

She threw the fan in her left hand, letting it sail by the Chitauri head while she attacked the opposite one. Using her fan, she deflected the spear strike, before swiping out with the weapon, ice-y magic freezing them solid. Collapsing the fan into a club, the Master of the Mystic Arts shattered him with a light rap.

At the same time, the left hand fan returned, decapitating the Chitauri it had missed earlier. Catching it, the Ancient One impaled a the second to last alien with both, opening a portal under the last and sending it dropping.

"As I was saying," the Sorcerer Supreme continued, dispensing her fans again, "I am defending this world from the shadows, unlike you and your friends."

"Sorry," Weiss muttered, eyes tilting. They were supposed to be defending the world from the-

"Why are you sorry?" The Master said, touching the Eye of Agamotto, "I knew this would come, Weiss, from the moment I decided to train you."

"What!?" Weiss's head jerked up.

"Did you think it every day I trained someone personally?" Her Master teased, "it isn't. I need you with our friends, because the artifacts your friends owns needs to be defended."

"Artifacts?"

"Well, two artifacts and a spirit," The Master said, "but yes. Keep them safe, because any of them in the wrong hands is dangerous. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Weiss nodded.

"And don't really on the Darkforce," the Master said, opening a portal, "other than the obvious downsides, it can have more subtle ones. Like turning off your communication."

What? What was that-?

Weiss froze as she realized she hadn't heard anything from the team since she started to use the Darkforce en mass. Reaching up, she rebooted the earpiece, "Hello?"

"Oh, thank god," Blake immediately breathed, "Are you alright? Your com wasn't working."

"Glitched because of the zero matter," Weiss said, "better now."

"You sure?" Ruby said.

"Yes," Weiss said, "I'm sure."

"Ok, then," Ruby said, "Blake, stay away for a bit. I'm gonna deal with the Chitauri around me real quick."

\- X **Ruby **X-

"_Are you sure_?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, before turning off the earpiece, closing her eyes to the storm of Chitauri gathering in front of her…

"Are you really, though?" Ruby's eyes flitted open, staring at the frozen temple overlooking a constant eclipse from its place on the cliff. Seated on that edge, Peter Wisdom and other two others waited for her.

"Hey, Pete," Ruby said.

"Hey," the scruffy, grey haired former agent of the SIS said, smiling at her, "Gotta admit, it's more boring in here than I expected when I made the choice."

"You want out?" Ruby asked.

"What, and risk someone breaking the record for the longest time in a woman?" Pete drawled, only to wince as the woman on his left to slapped his arm lightly.

"Classy," Ruby snarked, falling into a rhythm.

"Figured we'd see each other every couple of months," Pete said, "get some alcohol, ward off the DTs."

"You got those?" Ruby asked, the affectionate mockery immediately vanishing.

"I'm joking," Pete said, rolling his eyes, "Ain't that boring either. Mostly passes in a blur up here, unless you're tapping into the stone. Shouldn't you know this?"

The black haired woman on his right snorted, "Of course she doesn't."

Ruby didn't dignify Cinder Fall with a response, instead watching the other soul bound to the stone, the one she was incapable of freeing, stand, walking over to Ruby. Silver eyes stared into green, and Ruby immediately, instinctively let out a strangled apology, tears starting to form, "I'm sorry…"

Cream hands reached out, calluses from a life cut short pressed against Ruby's cheek as the thumb wiped away the tears. Pyrrha Nikos smiled at Ruby, "Don't be. It's not your fault."

"But it-!"

"It was Cinder who shot me," Pyrrha said, "not you."

"I should have-"

"Taken the blow? Been fast enough to catch her?" Pyrrha asked, "Do you really think I would be any happier if _you_ had died in my place?"

"You'd do better with the stone," Ruby said, "You were always the best at-"

"I was a good fighter," Pyrrha said, "but there was a lot of things I wasn't any better than you, and some I was worse. You need to stop putting me on a pedestal."

"But-"

"But nothing," Pyrrha cut her off again, "it was not your fault. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, looking down.

"Then repeat it to me," Pyrrha said.

"Real-?" Ruby started, only for Pyrrha to put her hand to her lips.

"I want to hear you say it," Pyrrha said.

"...It wasn't my fault," Ruby said.

"Good," Pyrrha said with a smile, "I-"

"Hate to cut this off," Pete said, "but Ruby's here for a reason, remember?"

"Right," Pyrrha said, letting go and stepping back, "Of course. Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, swallowing and marveling at the feeling of not having the Bloodstone move.

"I'll admit," Cinder said, "I don't normally like anything you do, but a show of force like this… it's impressive."

Ruby took a step forward, staring at the perpetual eclipse as she raised her hand. Everything around her faded, until it was just her and Pyrrha on the dais, staring at the eclipse together as Pyrrha touched Ruby's arm, "You can do this."

"I know," Ruby said, delaying it for as long as possible.

"Then do it," Pyrrha said, fading away.

Ruby raised her hand higher, energy pumping through her body with each pulse of her heart… and then she _**snapped**_, the bloody stone of Vormir singing in her chest.

The real world reappeared in the wake of the wave of orange that launched from her fingers. It washed over the Chitauri, turning them to ash and leaving an orange ball behind. When it hit the edge of the building, Ruby snapped again, the wave reversing itself, dragging the balls to Ruby's arm.

Ruby closed her eyes and gritted her teeth at the influx of energy burning down her arm and into the Bloodstone, feeling her skin melt. Finally, Ruby cracked and let out a scream of pain, falling to the ground.

Ruby opened her eyes as another Chitauri landed in front of her, grabbing a gun with her right hand and pointing it up. There was a flash of energy from the ER-3, and the top of the Chitauri's head exploded.

Huh.

Maybe these things were useful.

"Ruby!" Blake landed next to her with a thud, rushing to her side, "are you alri-? What am I saying, of course you aren-"

"I'm fine," Ruby croaked, trying to move her arm into her cloak, only for Blake to catch it and hold it out.

"That's not alright," Blake said, "don't lie to me about this. Please."

"It's not alright," Ruby repeated.

"Good," Blake said, pulling Ruby up, "then let's get it bandaged up."

"The others-" Ruby started.

"You'll have to talk while we work," Blake said.

\- X **Johnny **X-

Johnny gunned the engine of the Hell Cycle towards the next group of aliens, and if he had skin, he would have been grinned. Hell, he was half sure anyone who looked at him would _still _be able to tell that. Smashing into one alien, Johnny wrapped his chain around another's neck, before wrapping the other end to the exhaust pipe of his bike and jumping off.

Johnny watched the alien be ripped away from the group, the Hydra-Glide continuing on as if it still had a rider. Slinging the Benelli M3 so it was even with another alien's face, Johnny pulled the trigger, hellfire roaring from the gun.

"Come on," Johnny taunted, grabbing Howl and Roar, "You're supposed to be big, scary-"

Johnny ducked under the attack, running the knives into the alien and burning them away. Johnny cackled, grabbing the spear and clobbered two more, impaling a third, "These are the guys you're scared of, Z?"

_Not everyone is able to withstand this fight_, the Spirit said, _The Avengers, Eric, Jubilee, Blake, the police and the soldiers will all tire eventually._

"I guess," Johnny said, carving through another Chitauri. The last two Chitauri were gunned down before he could hit them. Looking over, he watched Yang vault over the roof.

"Hey!" Yang said.

"Hey," Johnny said, before giving a sharp whistle, his motorcycle turning around and coming back to him.

"What the f-?" Yang said, "How the hell'd you do that?"

"What?" Johnny said.

"Whistle," Yang said, "You don't have lips, or a tongue, or… well, _anything_ you would need to whistle!"

"I'm also a walking skeleton burning with the fire of hell," Johnny said, unchaining the body and throwing it aside, "I don't see you having trouble to believe that. Or hell, the fact that I can talk even though I don't exactly have vocal cords like this."

Yang opened her mouth, before shutting it and shrugging, "Fair."

"So," Johnny said, "What's going on?"

"Is now-?"

"Not like that," Johnny said, "Ruby forgot to toss me an earpiece and I didn't notice until I was too far away. Mind giving me a sitrep, I haven't seen any vamps?"

"They refused to help," Yang said.

"Of course they did," Johnny said, "What else?"

"Ruby's getting patched up," Yang said, "Weiss has been quite in a grumpy way, Blake's patching Ruby up and-"

"_Hey_," Johnny watched Yang jump, yanking the earpiece from her head, "_Bad news, everyone._

"_Why did these just go loud_?" Someone else asked.

"Seriously," Yang muttered.

_"Had JARVIS crank up this up, and sync up both teams, because this… uh… it shakes things up. And not in a good way_."

"_What is it, Tony_?" Ruby asked, "_more reinforcements_?"

"_Worse_," Tony said, voice grim, "_Hope you guys were skipping your taxes, because I sure as-_"

""_Get on with it!_"" Ruby and another man said as one.

"_The WCS decided we're not dealing with this fast enough for their liking. They just launched a nuke our way."_

What.

"_Say again_?" the man said, "_A nuke? As in-_?"

_"A goddamn nuclear bomb_?" Tony said, "_Yeah_."

"They wouldn't nuke New York, would they?" Johnny asked, grabbing the communicator from Yang, "It's insane, just the blast would-

"_Kill thousands_?" Tony said, "_I really don't know what they're thinking here, uh, Skeletor- I'm guessing, from the fire crackle_?"

"Ghost Rider," Johnny said, "I don't see He-man around."

"_He's over with us_," Tony joked back, "_anyways, yeah, no clue what they're hoping here. Maybe that we somehow miraculously got everyone out of New York in the last two hours_?"

"_Tony_," Ruby said, "_How far would the fallout hit_?"

"_That's what you're worried about_?" Tony asked, "_We're-_"

"_My daughter is outside of Boston_," Ruby snapped. Oh, _motherfucker_… Johnny hadn't even thought about that...

He was a terrible father.

_"...Shit_," Tony said, _"...I, I really don't know, Ruby_."

_"What do you mean, you don't know_!?" Ruby said, voice pitching upward.

"_Mother-_" Eric started, before cutting off.

"_This is Bruce's area of expertise, but there are too many factors_," Tony said, "_Yield, airburst or groundburst, weather, too many for me to calculate right now, because I'm almost out of power and am about to do something stupid! Even if we did know, how would we get her out-_"

"I-" Johnny started.

_"I can open portals_," Weiss said.

"_Ok_," Tony said, breathing in, "_I'm gonna shut down the defenses around my house in Malibu. Get the kid-"_

"_-s_," Eric growled, panting, _"Shogo's there too_!"

"_Get them and bring them there_," Tony said, "_you can't get much further while still in the US_."

"_Thanks, Tony_," Ruby said.

"_Yeah, well, if I fuck this up, at least I saved three people, eh?_" Tony said, "_Wish me luck_?"

"_No need to,_" Ruby said.

"_That little faith in me_?" Tony said, "_don't bla-_"

"_You're gonna do this_," the other man said.

"_Yeah_," Ruby agreed.

"_Tha-_"

"_Hate to break up the heartwarming moment_!" Eric snarled, "_But Jubilee's trying her damned best to kill me!"_

\- X **Eric **X-

Eric dodged behind a light post, watching the black sword in Jubilee's hand cleave through it. Pointing his M4 at her, he fired several bullets at her, watching them hit against her skin and flatten, "And with the way she's going at it, she might do it!"

"_What happened?["_ Ruby asked.

"Hell if I know," Eric said, dodging another slash, "Runes on that sword you gave her started to glow while we got told about the nuke, and she's-"

"**SHHHHOOOOWWHHHGOOOWWW**", Jubilee snarled.

"_Runes_?" A voice rumbled, "_What do they say_?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" Eric snapped, "I don't read Norse."

"_Read Norse_," the man scoffed, "_Do you read American too?"_

"...The fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"_It's Asgardian_," the man said, "_I'm coming in to look_."

"Whatever," Eric said, dodging the next strike… and wrapping his hand around the hilt, "Jubi-!"

**Eric drove his teakwood stake into Jamal's heart, staring down at him, "I'm sorry."**

**"Don't be," Jamal said, smiling up at Eric with fanged mouth, "We all know how it could end."**

**"But-"**

Eric was ripped from the memory by a sudden impact pushing him and Jubilee away from each other and the sword they had begun to grapple over. The blond man was staring down at it with a frown, "Strange…"

"What-?" Jubilee said, sitting up and clutching her head, "what hap-? Shogo!?"

"These runes say," the man said, running his finger along the lines, "Inspire, Rage, War, Power… and Summon?"

"Ruby," Jubilee said, "Shogo's at your place!"

"We're moving him," Eric panted. Why was he so… tired?

"Oh," Jubilee said, before falling onto her back, "Oh…"

\- X **AN **X-

Not much to say about this one. Which is ironic, I suppose, given how much happened/was revealed.

Thoughts, opinions and questions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	8. Chapter 7

Blake watched Ruby shoot two Chitauri with a pistol, leaning against the roof of a building. Dropping it once it was empty, Ruby reached around the sling her arm was in, drawing another pistol and shooting another Chitauri in the head, "I didn't need it this wrapped up."

"Stop complaining," Blake said, using Gambol Shroud's sheath to decapitate another Chitauri, before stopping, finally deciding to ask a question, "Ruby?"

"Yeah?" Ruby said, lowering the gun.

"Do you think…" Blake said, "do you think Tony can do it?"

"Would Elsa ever forgive me if I said I thought he would fail?" Ruby joked.

"I want your opinion," Blake said, voice shaking, "please."

Ruby maneuvered the gun back into its holster and climbed to her feet. Walking over to Blake, she put her right arm on the back of Blake's head, pressing their foreheads together, "Yeah, I'm sure Tony can do it."

"But if he doesn't-" Blake started, leaning into Ruby.

"He will," Ruby said, brokering no argument, but she also leaned into Blake, moving her arm down so she was hugging Blake, "I'm surprised you came."

"I wanted to make sure you were safe," Blake said, wrapping her arms around Ruby in turn, "instead I just made it so Elsa-"

"Has two supermoms," Ruby said, "You think we're gonna take over for Tony as her favorite heroes?"

"How can you be optimistic at a time like this?" Blake asked.

"One of us has to," Ruby said, smiling, "I'm sure the Bloodstone wi-"

Both of them flinched as a flash appeared in the sky, a Chitauri chariot crashing from the sky next to them seconds later. The couple jumped apart, Ruby fumbling with a gun while Blake bared Gambol Shroud… before both registered that the Chitauri within were dead, lowering their weapons, "I think Tony did it."

"Yeah," Ruby said touching her communicator, "What happened?"

"_Stark blew the mothership with the nuke_," Romanoff said, "_but he's not responding, and falling hard. We need to catch him, or slow his fall-"_

"On it," Ruby said, lowering herself in a sprinter's pose.

"Ruby, wai-!" before Blake could finish, Ruby had taken off, running for Stark Tower and up the side, leaving a group of petals in Blake's hand, her eyes trailing to the crashed jet, "How are you supposed to catch him with one hand, you dork? Yang!"

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby was about forty feet up the tower when it registered that Blake had been about to say something to her, and nearly sixty when it dawned on her that she was running on one hand, and didn't even have Howl or Roar on hand to free her… well, her hand.

Crap.

Ruby bit her cheek, eyes still trained on Tony. She'd figure something out when she got up there, right?

Right.

Ruby continued on her path, Aura pulsing as the Bloodstone fed it. Training her eyes on a plummeting chariot, Ruby jumped off the building, planting her foot on the chariot, and kicked off, landing on the wall with the added momentum.

And Blake said that Parkour course had been a waste of money! Like, yeah, it didn't seem useful when she had her Semblance, but adding the core ideas behind it with her Semblance was an improvement.

Training her eyes onto the edge of the Stark Tower, Ruby watched a green hand pop over the edge, palm facing upward. Hopping onto it, Ruby met a pair of glowing green eyes, "You're the big guy?"

'The big guy' gave a nod and a grunt, Ruby smiled at him, "Nice to meet you. Mind giving me a lift?"

The Hulk cracked a smile back at her, wrapping his hand around Ruby and winding up like a pitcher, Ruby's aura protesting, "Ok?"

Ruby nodded, her chin bumping into Hulk's pinky, "Yeah."

Hulk nodded, the smile growing wider, "Go!"

Ruby's arm and chest protested as she was tossed into the air, launching into the air faster than she expected. Smashing into Tony, Ruby wrapped her free arm around the falling hero. Now, she needed to-

"Ruby!" Her head jerked up, meeting Yang's eyes through the portal ringed in Johnny's chain, she tossed a backpack through it, "Catch!"

Grabbing it, Ruby slid the parachute around Tony and ripped the cord, the parachute springing out and slowing him while Ruby continued to plummet. Hopefully, that would be enough to save him, now Ruby had to face the opposite problem she had been facing less than a minute before. She was going too fast.

Luckily, that wasn't much of a problem. Ruby just activated her Semblance, using it to shunt some of the excess force in the opposite direction at the moment of impact, rolling to divert the rest as she landed. Climbing to her feet, Ruby watched Johnny walk over, another portal opened, "That was dumb."

Ruby stuck out her tongue at him, "It's fine."

"Sure it is," Johnny said, shoving his hands into his pockets, the flames fading away from his skull and letting his skin return, "You think Stark has some good booze at his place?"

"I-" before Ruby could answer, Tony suddenly yelped form above them, jerking.

"Shawarma!"

"...What?" Ruby asked.

"We should get some!" Tony said, "saw a place down there earlier…"

Ruby looked down over the city, watching the flashing of lights as a giggle tore from her body, the adrenaline in her system finally burning out, "I think it's probably closed, Tony."

"Oh," Tony said, finally landing as Thor came up with Eric and Jubilee holding onto his back, "Yeah…"

"We can open a portal," Johnny said, "we need to go to Malibu anyways, right?"

"Right," Blake said, climbing up, the last person to arrive on the top.

\- X **Maria **X-

Maria walked into the room alongside Director Fury, watched the WSC's faces appear on screens around the room, silence stretching. Finally, Gideon Malick spoke, voice icy, "Director. Deputy Director. You both have a lot to answer for."

"I don't see why, Councilman Malick," Fury said, eye burning, "You sent two nuclear missiles at-"

"That is not the point," Malick cut him off, "We made several decisions, all of which you have ignored or defied. We ordered the complete closure of the Avengers Initiative for Project Pegasus, which you ignored. Furthermore, you recruited David Banner, a known crim-"

"Doctor _Bruce_ Banner," Fury said, "was nothing if not accommodating throughout the time he was on the Helicarrier."

"He went on a rampage on it!" Malick said.

"That wasn't him," Maria interjected.

"This has nothing to do with you, Depu-"

"Then why did you call for us both, Councilman?" Maria asked.

"I-"

"Deputy Director Hill is correct," Councilwoman Hawley cut off Malick, "We called them here to hear why they have ignored our injunctions, as much as I dislike these hearings. And that means letting them voice their opinions, Gideon. Director Fury, ignoring the question of Doctor Banner, which can be questioned at another time because he _was_ on the list of prospective members before the end of Phase One… what about the members who weren't on it?"

"They were not part of the team I put together, ma'am," Fury said, "Every member of the Avengers Initiative that I put together for this team, minus one exception, was on that list. Many of the men and women who showed up _were_ on the prospective list years ago, but were considered impossible to recruit for a variety of reasons. And if you checked the Helicarrier's recordings, you would see that none of them stepped foot on the Helicarrier for the entirety of the Loki Crisis… or at _any_ point since the beginning of the Helicarrier's operation."

"Really now?" Hawley muttered, "and the names, so I can cross reference them? I have access to the list."

"Blake Belladonna-Rose, Yang Xiao-Long, Weiss Schnee," Fury rattled off, "All prospective members from as far back as the Avengers Initiative was formed."

"Are they there?" Councilman Singh asked Hawley.

"They are," Hawley confirmed, after a moment of reading.

"And the other three?" Malick asked.

"Unknown before today," Fury said, before stopping, "Well, that isn't quite accurate."

"How so?" Malick demanded, leaning forward.

"There was an unconfirmed sighting of the… ah… 'Ghost Rider'," Fury gave air quotes, "by Agent Philip Coulson last year."

"Isn't that… convenient?" Malick snarked.

"Continuing to another question," Hawley said, "What do you intend to do with these new Gifted?"

"Do with?" Maria asked, "We don't _own_ them!"

"That wording was worse than it could have been," Hawley agreed, "But the question still stands. Well, Nicholas?"

"I plan to follow the Index's method of operation. I will do an assessment of them, assign them a caseworker… and official induct them into the Avengers Initiative."

"And why that?" Hawley asked, "Why not another course of action?"

"Ma'am, they just helped hold back an invasion long enough for the United State Military to intervene. The Avengers themselves managed to _stop _that invasion, in spite of the brash actions of this council. It has been beyond a success.

"And speaking of our actions," Malick said, "We must discuss your roll in them. Your attempt to stop-"

"Everyone in this call from facing a firing squad?" Fury said, "Yes, we do need to talk about it. You're welcome."

"You endangered this world for one cit-"

"New York had not been compromised. The Army and Marines was moving _into_ the city. I'm sure the generals would love to hear the pointless deaths of their men, alongside countless civilians. The nuclear option is supposed to be the _last _option we resort to. I was doing my job by stopping your actions."

"Your job is to obey this council's orders," Malick said.

"My job is the defense of this world," Fury said, "This council is multinational. Do you really believe that your nations wouldn't have you branded as terrorists if they had to decide between that and World War III from firing a nuclear missile at Manhattan?"

"They'd never kno-"

"Are you actually that stupid?" Maria asked with a laugh, "Sir, permission to tell Councilman Malick how his plan would have backfired, if it wasn't for the intervention you gave?"

"Permission granted."

"First," Maria said, "Our nuclear stockpile is recorded, as is all take offs. They'd eventually come looking at us once all nations were written off. Second, we don't even know that the explosion would close the portal, meaning you would have weakened the United States ability to respond while the invasion continued. Furthermore, the Avengers who stopped the invasion would have died, allowing the invaders to further dig in. You could have made the invasion worse."

"And I will keep that data on multiple agents," Fury said, "if there is _any_ reprise for these actions on our end… well, I hope you always wanted to die at dawn. Director Fury, signing out."

Maria watched the screen flick off, before following Fury, "Now what do we do?"

"I copy that data," Fury said, "Then give it to the agents I mentioned, and speak to the Avengers."

\- X **Elsa **X-

Elsa rushed from one window to another, practically jumping in place, "And this is the Mark 2! It's the first suit Tony made after he was free, and the first one that flies! But… that's weird…"

"What's weird?" Aunt Weiss asked, sitting on the couch behind her with Shogo.

"Last time I read a magazine about this, it had been changed," Elsa said, "Hammer industries had added two FN F2000 Assault Rifles, a minigun and-"

"-I ripped to all out after I got it back," a voice said from behind them, causing Elsa to lock up. No way, "seriously, who adds all that junk to someone else's tech? It's an insult."

"Did you keep the stuff around?" Her Mom asked Tony Stark, "I'd love to check them out."

"You can have them, if you want," _Tony Stark _said, walking onto an empty pedestal and letting the _new suit of armor_ he was wearing come off, "not one for guns, personally."

Wow.

"But missiles are just fine?" One of the men said, before Mum and Mom shoved him aside, pulling Elsa into a hug.

"Mum?" Elsa asked, "Mom?"

"Thank goodness you're alright," Mum said.

"Yeah," Mom agreed, hugging Elsa tighter.

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" Elsa asked, tilting her head, "And what happened to your arm, Mom?"

"Long story, kiddo," Tony Stark said to her, leaving Elsa having to use every ounce of self control not to squeal in joy. Tony Stark was talking to _her_! ,"Your parents and me had a really long couple of hours."

"Yes, Mister Stark," Elsa squeaked.

"Call me Tony," Tony said, before turning to the man he had been speaking to, "and as for you, Steve, I have missiles just in case I need to shoot down giant alien whales, like today!"

Whaaaaaa…!?

"And we thank you for it," a red headed woman said, voice dripping with something different. Mean? No, that wasn't it. It was like Mum got with Mom or Uncle Johnny.

"Anyways," Tony said, flopping onto one of the couches, "I'm gonna order that shawarma. If you guys want anything, just tell JARVIS, and he'll send out the call. Right, JARVIS?"

"Quite, sir," a voice came from the speakers.

"You got any booze?" Uncle Johnny asked.

"Of course," Tony said, "let's treat this like a part- Ruby, you alright?"

"You named him JARVIS?" Ruby said, voice tight.

"Yeah, 'Just A Rather Very Intelligent System'," Tony said.

"Just like Howard," Ruby muttered, standing up and walking for the door, "Ok, JARVIS, I'll get back to you on it."

"Do you have any pizza places nearby?" Elsa asked.

"Yes," JARVIS said.

"Can we can have pizza?" Elsa asked her parents.

"We'll think about it," Blake said, before ducking out after Ruby.

"Wanna talk about the suits while we wait for your parents to make that decision?" Tony said, "You seemed to know a lot about them. Are you a fan?"

Elsa nodded, blushing, "I like the tech."

"Then let's talk about it," Tony said, smiling at her.

\- X **Ruby **X-

Ruby was barely aware of Blake stepping outside the house, giving her a dry look as she laughed like a loon, "Mind letting me in on what's so funny?"

"Just… Howard did the exact same thing when SHIELD was made," Ruby said.

"Gonna need more articulation, dear," Blake snarked.

"Shield wasn't an acronym," Ruby said, "it was just Shield. Then Howard decided that having it _mean_ something was better. That's why it's a jumble of words, 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division'."

"And you can tell JARVIS is that because…?"

"Howard's butler was named Jarvis," Ruby explained.

"Oh," Blake said, nodding, "That explains it."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that I was named after the deceased Edwin Jarvis, Ma'am," Blake and Ruby jumped, grabbing their guns, "Oh, dear. Did I startle you?"

"A bit," Ruby said, storing her gun, "You normally spy everywhere in the house?"

"Other that Master Stark's bedroom?" JARVIS said, "Yes, though I programmed in the ability to turn off the cameras after the first incident in which he decided to debase other rooms."

"I don't bla- Jarvis is dead?" Ruby said.

"Yes. He passed away a little over a decade ago, unfortunately."

"Makes sense," Ruby said, voice soft, "It's a shame, he was a nice guy, the few times I met him."

"Can I take it from your comments, that you knew Howard well?"

"Well?" Ruby shook her head, "God, no. Last time we were on speaking terms beyond the SHIELD board meetings was… Tony had just been born."

"A shame," JARVIS said, "I had hoped you could talk to Master Stark about his father. Anyways, Your daughter wanted pizza, shall I order it?"

"I'm fine with it," Ruby said, "What about you, Blake?"

"I guess," Blake said, "I'll take one with anchovies."

"Cheese is good for me-" Ruby stopped, pulling out her phone as it went off, "Sorry, I should take this."

"Then I'll go get Miss…?"

"Elsa," Blake said.

"Miss Elsa's order," JARVIS said.

"Hell-"

"_Why does your communicator say you're in fucking Malibu_!?" Fury barked, making Ruby pull the phone away from her ear.

"...Because we are?" Ruby said, putting her phone back, "We're kinda having a victory party at Tony's."

"_Great_," Fury said, "_Great. So now I have to fly across the goddamn country to debrief you all. Thanks."_

"Sorry?" Ruby said, "We weren't thinking about that, we just wanted to unwind after the fight."

"..._You're all lucky you earned it_," Fury said, "_I'll be there in a couple of hours. Tell Stark to have some good booze ready for it."_

"Yep," Ruby said, "See you then, Nick."

"Nick's not happy with us, then?" Blake asked dryly, rubbing her ears.

"Yeah," Ruby said, "let's get back in. We have new friends to meet."

"And old ones to talk to," Blake agreed.

\- X **Jubilee **X-

Jubilee cradled Shogo, peppering him with kisses, "Mama's so glad you're ok, Shogo."

"Muhmuh?" Shogo asked, squirming in her arms.

"Mama's fine, Shogo," Jubilee promised, even as her eyes trailed over to the sword leaning next to the blond man drinking with Johnny. That wasn't quite right, there was a… hunger… leftover from her holding the sword, chewing at the back of her mind. Part of her wanted to pick it up again, to feel so strong Eric was worried about his chances to win a fight with her.

It made her sick to her stomach, reminded her of the first days after her transformation. Of the gnawing, distracting hunger that had eventually led her to attack Johnny for something to drink.

"Hey," Jubilee snapped back to attention, watching the man in a dark purple tank top sit on the edge of the couch next to her, holding out a bottle to her, "You want this? You… uh… you _are_ old enough to drink, right? Not physically, obviously, but in walker years, or whatever?"

"Uh… yeah," Jubilee said, "but, no, thanks. Gotta take care of Shogo."

"Good answer," he said, "I'm Clint Barton by the way. Anyone want this!?"

"I'll take it," Eric said, holding out his hand. Clint threw the bottle at Eric, who caught it out of the air.

"So you know about… us?" Jubilee asked, "I'm Jubilee, by the way."

"Ruby was my SO, Supervising Officer, back when I started in SHIELD," Clint said, leaning back, "It was hell."

"Really?" Jubilee asked, watching Elsa reach out and take a gauntlet Tony was offering her, gingerly.

"Yeah," Clint said, "Gotta look at it from young me's point of view. I was given this SO who kept talking about vampires, who spent half the time I was under her teaching me how to kill things that didn't exist… then Budapest happened. And they did exist."

"Vampires in Budapest?" Eric muttered, "Didn't hear about it."

"SHIELD's nothing if not thorough," Clint said, "I recognized your eyes, before you put on the sunglasses. Inverted sclera was the obvious sign, according to Ruby."

"That's because it is," Eric said, "but if you see it-"

"You're practically boned," Clint said, "Yeah, I know."

"Speaking of these," Jubilee said, reaching up to remove the glasses. She had forgotten she had them on, "That's better."

"Miss Elsa," Jarvis asked, "Your parents are going to have the pizza you wanted. What would you like on yours?"

"Mushroom and black olives!" Elsa said, moving her hand around in the armored arm, "Wow…"

"Cool, right?" Tony bragged.

"Yeah!"

"Tony!" Ruby called, "Nick's gonna be here in a couple of hours, he wants you to have good alcohol ready."

"Yeah, yeah," Tony waved his hand.

\- X **Clint 1989** X-

_Clint read the name on the picture as the jet he was on stopped. His new Supervising Officer, Ruby Rose._

_She was kinda pretty, he guessed. Not as much as Laura, though._

_"That your girlfriend, son?" Clint looked over at the elderly man seated next to him._

_"No," Clint said, storing the picture, "Pen pal. I've got a girl back home."_

_"Well, I wish you luck with that one," the man said, standing up and walking down the plane, using each chair like a crutch._

_"Thanks," Clint said, taking one last look at the picture before standing up, grabbing his carry on from the overhead storage and beginning to make his way off the plane and through Logan International. Finding his purple duffle bag, he finally stepped out into the late May heat, looking for his SO._

_It didn't take any time at all to find her, the back of her ratty trenchcoat pressed against a red pickup truck, tongue out as she read a book. Before Clint could say anything, she pulled a bookmark from one pocket, sliding it into the book, shut it, and gave Clint a warm smile, "Hey! You're Clint Barton, right?"_

_"Yes, ma'am," Clint said._

_"Nice to meet you," Agent Rose said, taking his bag and gently tossing it into the bed of the truck, "C'mon, let's get to the house, I'm sure you want to check out where you'll be staying for the next few months, right?"_

_"Yeah," Clint said, climbing into the cab, "I'm surprised someone from SHIELD lives in Boston."_

_"You're surprised a government agent lives in the Cradle of Liberty?" Ruby teased._

_"Ok," Clint said, blushing, before noticing the car phone, "Do you mind if I use that?"_

_"Yeah, sure," Ruby said._

_"Thanks," Clint said, picking up the phone and dialing Laura's number. After a moment, she picked up._

_"Hello?"_

_"Hi, Laura," Clint said._

_"Clint? You're already at your training camp?"_

_"Not yet," Clint said, "my SO has a phone in her truck. She let me use it. I wanted you to know I touched down safely-"_

_"Good idea," Agent Rose said, half to Clint and half to herself, "getting out of Boston will probably take an hour or two. Hopefully that tunnel'll work well… whenever it gets done."_

_"Give me a second Laura," Clint said, moving the phone away from his ear, "Hours?" Really?"_

_"One part of Boston I hate," Agent Rose said, "it's hell to navigate, especially around the airport."_

_"Anyways," Clint said, putting the phone to his ear, "I probably shouldn't cause too much of a charge on the boss's expenses, but I love you."_

_"I love you too," Laura said, "Call me when you're actually settled in?"_

_"Of course," Clint promised, before hanging up, "Thanks."_

_"Hey," Agent Rose said, "It's fine. Family's important Clint, trust me, I know."_

_"Still, that's gonna be a charge," Clint said._

_"It's fine," Agent Rose said, "Off the topic of your… wife?"_

_"Girlfriend," Clint said._

_"Right," Agent Rose nodded, "off that topic, I gotta say, I was surprised when Director Kellee asked me to act as a SO, I don't normally do training."_

_"Why'd you do it then?"_

_"Read your file," Agent Rose said, nodding to the dashboard, "You're supposed to be the best shot in a generation or two, made the best out of the Operations Academy look bad. And that's a feet."_

_"I've just always been good at aiming, not sure why," Clint said._

_"Same," Agent Rose said, "That's why I decided to pick you up. It's a great ability, but can be pretty disorienting, right?"_

_"Yeah," Clint said, nodding, "Yeah."_

_"Yeah," Agent Rose said, "And Clint… I have family where we're going, and they're a bit… different. So if you hurt or insult them… well, let's not forget that I'm one of the finest agents of my generation. Ok?"_

_"Ok," Clint said._

_"Good," Ruby said, "let's get home. I need to work on my stakes."_

-X **Tony **X-

Tony sat back on the couch, watching Skeletor, the blond woman and Natasha play darts in between showing Ruby's daughter, Elsa, the rest of his armors. The black haired woman came in, holding several pizza boxes and putting them down, grabbing a controller and unpausing the match of Halo that her, Ruby and uh… the other two- "Alright, time out, time out!'

"Whut?" Ruby asked, a pizza slice already hanging from her mouth, the last bandages hanging from her elbow, her forearm and hand still slightly raw. Elsa looked up too, a splitting image of her mom. Before they could say anything, Ruby's controller rumbled, her avatar dying, "Blake!"

"What?" The black haired woman, Blake, he guessed, deadpanned, "You didn't pause the game. Not my fault."

"Cheater!" Ruby said, pointing at Blake.

"Pragmatist," Blake responded, taking a bite of her pizza, "Don't act like you wouldn't have done the same."

"I-" Ruby didn't seem to have an answer to that, turning to Tony, "So, uh, what's up?"

"I don't know who, like, half you guys are," Tony said, "You just sort of… showed up, in time for the Chitauri. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I'd kinda like to know who you guys are."

"I have questions of a similar type," Thor said, standing up and pointing at Skeletor, "Especially of you."

"Me?" Skeletor said, the grip on his dart growing tighter.

"Yes, you," Thor continued, spinning his hammer in his hand, "Your transformation draws upon power akin to that of Muspelheim, but different, darke-"

"A bit of advice, friend," Skeletor said, voice a tinge more serious as he tossed the dart into the air, before catching it, a glow in his eyes, "Don't mention that around El-"

"Johnny," Ruby said, cutting him off, "It's over. She's gonna find out sooner or later."

"...Fine," Johnny said, voice crackling, "Fine."

Johnny's skin cracked and burned, his eyes popping while spikes forming along the shoulders and elbows. Tony felt Elsa slide behind him, while Tony checked the Colantotte Bracelets around his wrists. There was something… not right about it, and as he stared at the Ghost Rider up close, Tony Stark was speechless for the first time since his kidnapping.

"_Thor_," Johnny said, voice carrying an otherworldly echo.

"Johnny, was it?" Thor asked

"Yes _and No_," The Ghost Rider said, "I'm Johnny _and I am the Spirit of Vengeance_."

Behind him, Tony heard Elsa give a slight whimper. Jesus, he understood why Johnny didn't want to do this in front of her. He didn't even know the guy, and it set him on guard, how was it treating someone who knew him?

"And from where did you come, Spirit?" Thor asked, "I know you're not of the realms."

"_Most would call it Hell. __**I would**__ call it Hell, and I was born of it_," the Spirit said, _"I will never go back."_

"Why's Uncle Johnny got something from hell in him?" Elsa asked quietly.

"It's alright," Tony said, even though he wasn't sure he was. He looked over at Ruby, who seemed torn between helping him comfort her daughter… and making sure there wasn't a fight about to break out.

"It is," Blake agreed.

"But," Elsa started.

"And why should you be allowed on this world?" Thor asked.

"Thor," Steve said, "calm-"

"_It's not your world to rule, Asgardian_," the Spirit said, "_nor do you get to decide that I will-_

"Zarathos Kale!" Ruby finally snapped, "We're here to relax, not to fight, and not to scare my daughter with threats! Calm down!"

The Ghost Rider stopped, turning to Elsa. She took a step back, eyes wide and brimming with tears, "Elsa-"

Elsa turned, bolting out of the house. The Ghost Rider dropped his hand, the fire vanishing as he did, leaving Johnny staring for a second, before he rushed after Elsa, the Asian teen and Blake following behind them while Ruby stared in shock.

"Ruby?" Tony said, "Your daughter?"

"That wasn't," Ruby said, "that wasn't supposed to hap-"

"But it did happen," Steve said, "and we need to find her, before we lose her. Come on, Thor."

"Yes," Thor nodded, "yes. I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"You can apologizing when we have her," Tony said, "JARVIS!"

"I have sight on Miss Elsa," JARVIS said, "Mister Johnny is following shortly behind."

"Great," Tony said, "That's gonna end well."

\- X **AN **X -

Thoughts, opinions and Questions? Good? Bad? Meh?


End file.
